


Not Alone

by EmScully



Category: The X-Files
Genre: AU, Alien Abduction, F/M, Gen, Kidnapping, Original Character - Freeform, Post-Colonization (X-Files), Pregnancy, Searching, Survival, Torture, Trauma, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2018-12-12 21:45:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 27,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11745810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmScully/pseuds/EmScully
Summary: A post colonization AU starting at requiem. Scully is taken, not Mulder. Pregnant and alone, she must fight to survive in a desolate world while Mulder searches for her.





	1. 1.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a tumblr anon prompt I made up for some experienced writers to take a crack at. Its running on Tumblr now and is amazing, but I decided to take a shot at it and this is my version. 
> 
> I do not own the x-files.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scully's escape.

Her world changed, again. For weeks, or maybe months, Scully lived among them. Lived, no, she existed. This time, her memory was her own, her thoughts, deep and ugly, left to her. This time she almost lost hope, until her world changed. Her padded cell was little help when she was suddenly thrown across the small room, slamming into the far wall then crashing down to the floor. The lights flickered, dimmed, and then flickered their protest some more. Smoke, there was a hint of chemical smoke in the air and a piercing shrill bit into her sore mind. She waited, still lying on the cool floor, catching her breath. The smoke increased and another lurch, not as strong, but she slid down the floor and crashed into the side of her cot. In the inky blackness she realized, _we're going down._

It took only minutes, but she was able to brace herself for the impact that was not as violent as she had anticipated, _we must have been low to the ground._ She picked herself off the floor, bare feet crunching on glass and other debris, made her way to the door. She was surprised when it opened; the strong magnetic locks had lost power. She swallowed hard and pushed the door again, sliding her way into the narrow metallic hall. The smoke was stronger and Scully held her arm over her mouth and coughed. She crouched as she made her way down the hall. It was familiar, but she cursed herself for not paying attention when she had been dragged from her cell to the medical room for tests. She had thought she was preserving whatever she had left, hiding deep in herself, letting her eyes glass over as the dragged her to yet another torture session.

She jogged blindly into the smoke, the flickering and flashing lights offering nothing but assisting the shrilling alarm in making her head throb. She continued forward, following the winding corridor that tilted on an angle, her hand bracing the cool wall and she moved forward. In front of her, the lights stopped, and the smoke was being sucked down and out. _Out._ She slowed, noticing the rippling of the metal under her feet; the shredding of the walls that suddenly disappeared from her touch. The floor heaved and groaned, a counter rhythm to the relentless shrill. Before she realized what was happening she was thrown from her feet, the floor buckling, bending and tearing in a scream of metal. She pitched forward and fell.

Maybe 15 feet. Far enough that her body jarred against the hard ground, smashing her knees into her chest, her body slammed then slumped forward. Her face pressed into the ground, dry dirt filled her mouth as she struggled to pull the air that had been forced out of her body back into her lungs. She coughed, scratching at the ground, looking for the strength to push herself up. She didn't find it. She heaved, deep ragged breaths full of sandy dirt, coating her throat, filling her nose. She gagged and vomited, bile replacing the grit. She rolled to her back, chest heaving, hands still clawing wildly at the ground as she fought with her body to calm. Agonizing seconds passed but her body finally started to still. She pulled fresh air into her nose and forced it out of her mouth. Her hands stilled at her sides and she forced her eyes open, looking up. The ship had crashed, it lay awkwardly on its side, like a plate buried in sand, a gash marred the side, the gash she had fallen through, her escape. The lights blinked and flashed above her, the angry alarm faint above her. Small explosions popped across the ship, fires burned blue and green and the chemical smoke billowed out of the hole. She was out.


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Survival

 

The ship groaned and swayed above her. Panicked she flipped over and struggled to her feet. Her knees beneath the thin fabric of her scrubs were worn raw and bleeding from the impact of her fall, her palms and wrists ached as she pushed herself up, scrambling, falling, then up again she made her way to a line of trees, out from under the falling ship. From the safety of the trees Dana Scully watched as fire and ash rained down around the ship, trees were on fire and crashing down around her, echoing in the night. She shivered, though the air was warm and pulled her knees to her chest, the pressure in her belly bringing back the memories.

_They had done it again, experimented on her. Tortured her. But this time was different, this time she was pregnant. She was carrying Mulder's child. The thought of these beings hurting her child was more than she could bear. Each night she held her little belly and prayed for her baby, prayed Mulder would meet his child. They continued to torture her; flaying her skin, injecting her with burning liquids that made her writhe and twist in agony. How could her child survive this? How could she survive this? But she was alive. And from what she could tell, her baby was alive. The days had run together, blurring until she lost track of time. Mulder had been in Oregon when she found out she was pregnant. Nine weeks. Her baby had been nine weeks old. On her flight out to Oregon to meet Mulder she imagined telling him, his reaction, his face lighting up, taking her in his arms as they laughed. She never got to tell him. Told he was in the woods, she made her way out to find him. She never did. Instead, they had found her. She had lost weight, her ribs were prominent and her face gaunt, but her belly had grown, and continued to grow. Through the odds and through the torture, her baby had thrived. They fed her, and she ate. She bathed, exercised and continued to live in a numb-like state for her child. She withdrew into herself, living in a shell, she didn't want to be aware of the small life being torn from her, and she didn't want to feel the blood between her legs, the fire in her belly when they finally realized what she carried. But it never came._

Her back pressed into the rough bark of the tree, her head fell and her chin hit her chest, jerking her awake. Her eyes snapped open, instantly focusing on the burning ship almost fully engulfed. She could feel the heat and she pulled herself up to move further back into the forest. She walked with slow determined steps, ignoring the stinging in her feet and the cramping in her legs. She pushed forward into the darkness; branches pulled at her hair, scratched her face and bare arms. Flakes of white ash fell around her, building on the ground and the trees like snow. In another world, she might have called it beautiful but she just stared at it with an empty gaze as she moved forward. The heat from the fire was gone and the explosions faint. Exhaustion was her enemy now and she slowed, pressed her hands against the large base of a tree, letting her forehead lean into the bark. She breathed. Slowly she lowered herself down, curling onto her side an arm bent under her head, the other pressed against her belly. Sleep took her almost instantly.

When Scully woke up, she woke up on her own. No one was prodding her, yelling at her, pulling her off of her cot before she was even fully awake. No one was strapping her down, taking vials of her blood and replacing it with the burning serum. She woke with a stretch, her back cramped from the position she had curled herself into under the tree. She sat up, pushed her hair out of her face and leaned against the tree, legs stretched in front of her. The heat of the sun felt wonderful on her face and she closed her eyes, absorbing the warmth. After a few moments she opened her eyes and stood on shaky legs to survey her surroundings. The sun was warm, but pale, the ash had become a thick fog, giving the warm forest a bleak wintery feel. She looked up at the trees, their bark thick and gnarled, but they were bare, no leaves. She looked around her; there was no green to be seen. The trees were dead. She looked at the forest floor covered in the thick blanket of ash. She pushed at the ash and leaves with her feet, finding nothing by dry sandy dirt. No soil. Nothing. Her breath hitched and she turned around doing a complete 360. It was the same in every direction.

Smoke billowed from the burning ship and she knew that she had to get away from it, so she started in the opposite direction. _Better than nothing._ Scully walked, she followed the slope of the land, deciding that walking downhill was safer than walking up, and easier and probability of finding water was greater. By the late afternoon the dead trees had thinned but the fog did not let up. _This isn't ash._ She had been walking for hours, certain she had gone miles and there was no way for the ash to still be so thick in the sky. She continued, having no other options. As the sun set, the ground changed, startled, Scully looked down and nearly cried at the site. A road, a real paved road. Her aching feet sighed as the warmth from the smooth pavement ran up her soles. She stood in the middle of the road and peered down both directions. She squinted behind her, into the dusk and saw a glimmer of something. The opposite way, there was nothing. She headed towards the glimmer; it wasn't far, maybe 1000 yards. She cautiously made her ways towards the reflection, hugging the side of the road, ready to jump into the trees if needed. As she got closer, her heart thudded faster in her chest. _Holy shit, it's a car._

She broke into a jog and made her way to the red sedan. About 10 feet away she slowed back down to a cautious walk, absentmindedly brushing her hand to her back for her lost gun. She padded towards the car, moving slowly towards the driver side, peering in. Nothing. She scrubbed her dirty hand on the dirty driver window. She couldn't see any keys and the doors were locked. "Damnit" She hit the top of the car with her palm and ran a hand through her tangled hair. She pulled at the handles again then went around and tried the truck. _Fuck!_ Her stomach grumbled and she pressed her palm to her hard abdomen. She chewed on her lip and thought for a second, looking into the dark down the road, hoping to catch a glimpse of anything. Still nothing. The sun was almost gone, so she scrambled up the bank and dug around in the crunchy leaves until she found a large stone. She tossed it back and forth between her hands as she made her way back to the car and studied the windows. Standing a few feet away, she lobbed the stone at the back window; it bounced off the window and flew back at her. With a yelp, Scully ducked, narrowly avoiding getting pegged in the head with her own rock. She kicked at the rock with her bare toe and pulled off her scrub top, then picked up the stone and wrapped it in her top and spun it around securely. Standing by the trunk she whipped the scrub wrapped rock into the window and smiled slightly to herself when she heard the window shatter.

Scully stood, barefoot in scrub bottoms and a bra and admired her handwork. She shook the glass chunks from her top and threw the rock back towards the woods. She started to pull her top back on when she was suddenly startled. Her belly. She looked down and noticed the protrusion bellow her belly button. During her stay in the ship she was aware of her pregnancy, of her baby, she talked to it daily, but still, there was a detachment, a fear. She was afraid of loving something that could so easily be ripped from her. But now, out of the ship, even lost, completely alone, she was rid of that fear. She allowed herself to study her expanding stomach. _Big._ She laughed nervously to herself. She had been there longer than she had realized. By the size of her belly, she had to be close to 20 weeks. She tugged her top back on, reached around the broken window and unlocked the car door. She climbed in the back and nosed around to the front. _No keys. No fucking keys._ Nothing. She hit the trunk button and climbed out, slightly praying for a break. She pulled open the trunk and sagged against the car. A six pack of bottled water had rolled its way to the front of the trunk, along with a tennis racket, some old tennis balls, tennis shoes about 5 sizes too big for Scully and a duffle bag filled with clean towels, men's gym shorts and an iPod. _The shoes would fit Mulder._ But she was certain he wouldn't be caught dead in white tennis shoes.

Scully lounged in the front passenger seat of the red car and polished off her second bottle of water. She used the last bit to rinse the grit from her scabbed knees and raw palms. Leaning back she pulled the two towels out of the bag, threw one over her legs and scrunched the other into a wad and stuck it under her head. She stared up and out of the grimy moon roof into a starless sky. _Where the hell am I?_


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder's search.

Mulder bellowed a slew of curses at the jeep he had stolen 4 hours earlier. The gas tank was bone dry, he knew he should have stopped. _I fucking knew it!_ But his fear moved him forward, propelling him across the graveyard of a highway, zipping around abandoned automobiles, climbing over deserted camps and following his gut. His life was so drastically different 10 weeks ago.

_"Okay Scully, see you tomorrow." He couldn't help the smile that cracked across his face at the thought of seeing her as he snapped closed his cell. She was breathy and energetic, excited to see him too. It had only been two days. He had been concerned; scared even at her sudden symptoms, terrified of what it could be lurking behind their happiness. But she had been to the doctor; she had assured him that everything was fine. Everything was always fine, but this time he believed her, there was something in her voice. Less then 24 hours, he could wrap his arms around her and feel for himself. The 24 hours came and went. Mulder had become hysterical. Crashing through the mossy forest, tearing into anyone that talked to him, tried to help him._

_Scully had rented a car and was going to meet him back in the woods. He had paced, not really paying attention to what he was doing and continued to look over his shoulder to see if she was coming. She never did. When it started to get late, the little group headed back to the road, to their cars, where they saw Scully's car. Mulder's eyes bugged and he spun around to look at the woods behind him, "SCULLY!" No answer, he charged back into the woods, the two rookie cops hot on his heels. They scoured the forest all night and when the officers left him Mulder continued on into the next day until his body started to rebel. He drove in a daze to the hotel, showered and ate then went to the station. He had done this before. Why had he felt like he had done this before?_

_A week passed and there was nothing. The Lone Gunmen had been tracking movement in Canada, the last he had heard from them was, "Fermont. Quebec. Canada." Then black out. It started slow, like a storm rolling in over a turbulent sea. Great shadows appeared in the sky as the giant disks appeared. Mass panic, riots, looters, and cult suicides; movies had prepared humanity well for what was happening. Flights were grounded, cell towers down and Mulder assumed he was no longer an FBI agent, assumed he was just a man with one intention, to find the woman he loved. How romantic._

_Mulder stole five cars and killed two men in the second week on his way to Fermont from Oregon. He had only made it 500 miles. Explosions rocked the ground like earthquakes; smoke filled the air, blotting out the sun. People disappeared, literally standing there one moment and gone the next. Children were abandoned, families split, whole cities wiped out. Mulder continued east. Scully Scully Scully._

_The third week is when shit got ugly. People? He could handle people. Guns? Cake. Aliens? Fuck aliens. They were like packs of dogs, roaming the cities, tearing into anything that moved. These were not super soldiers; these were fucking aliens, disgusting, malicious, killing machines. They walked on two legs, ran on all fours. Their eyes glowed (of course they did) and their teeth gnashed. Giant reptilian rats with body armor. They were dumb, ran on pure instinct. Mulder once out maneuvered one by throwing a rock behind one, luring it away from him. He hadn't wasted a bullet yet. He should have. He should have when he saw the little girl dragged from her family. He should have when a pack of them took down a horse. He climbed trees and watched them circle, not sure where he was. They were killing machines with acorn brains._

It was getting dark and Mulder was on a deserted road. That had not happened in awhile. _Figures._ He pulled his backpack out of the back seat and headed down the road, his gun at his hip, 5 magazines in his bag, one in his pocket. He had water, food, a map, an old sleeping bag and a buck knife he found on a dead guy. But he didn't have the one thing he needed. He didn't have Scully. He walked into the night, all of his senses on high alert. The lizard dogs were easy to hear coming, men on the lam, men like him, not as easy. He didn't have the energy to get jumped, didn't have the time. He walked faster. He needed another car. _Fucking stupid._ The smell of a campfire wafted over the smell of piss and shit that had become the world's new odor. He spun around, squinting into the black, looking for the dumbass that was stupid enough to light a fire in the middle of the night. He hoped they had a car.


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scully's child is in danger.

Scully had been out of the ship for four days when she saw them. When they saw her. After the first two days of walking she found a small town, deserted and devastated. She made her way through the town, picking up necessities she could salvage and carry. She had a pair of good boots, nice jeans that fit just under her belly and she found a gun. _Pistol. Why?_ Stuffed it in the back of her jeans and stuck the extra bullets in her pocket. She felt good, until the fourth day. The map she found placed her in Canada. Quebec, in a small town called Alma. Lake Saint-Jean was a few days walk away. She didn't know what else to do, but the idea of being near water seemed like a good one. She held a bit of beef jerky between her teeth as she stuffed the map back in her bag and dug around for water, hitching her hip a little as the baby did a back handspring inside of her. The sun was setting, but the heat still remained. The dark sky was still murky and void of stars or moon. She wasn't used to the silence, no wind, no birds and no rustling in the trees. Her fingers brushed past the iPod she took with her from the red car. She scrolled through it earlier, not terribly impressed with the choice of music, but Fleetwood Mac's Rumors was on it. _Everyone loves Fleetwood Mac, even tennis players with bad shoes._ Before she could untangle the cord she heard a crashing behind her. Scully spun around, jerky falling from her mouth. The movement caused her to lose her balance and she jerked awkwardly to keep from falling. Her eyes widened as she looked around. Another crash. _Fuck._ She snatched the gun from her pants and held it in front of her towards the crashing. She squinted, trying to focus on the movement that raced past her line of sight. Something flashed, big and green. _Eyes. Are you fucking kidding me?_

It charged Scully before she had the chance to shoot. Crashing into her shoulder, slamming her onto her back, her legs out from under her, she yelled out, more so out of anger than pain. It snagged her bag from her shoulder, tearing into it and she fired off three shots into its chest and it crashed down on top of her. It was huge, it smelled horrible and it was crushing her. She grunted as she shoved it off and rolled out from under it. She stayed on her hands and knees, gasping, her eyes never leaving the creature. Slowly, she stood, a zipper of pain glancing across her belly, quick as lighting and just as hot. She grimaced but moved towards the animal. She kicked it. It was dead. _Fucker._ She crouched down to get a better look. _Disgusting. Jesus._ It was not from this world. _Figures._ It reminded her of the giant rodents from The Princess Bride. _Mulder still needs to watch that._ But bigger and kind of scaly. Its eyes were open; they shown brightly giving off a yellow hew. The pain came again. _Shit._ She closed her eyes for a moment then stood slowly, reaching for her bag as she rose. It wasn't trashed, but it didn't smell great. She slung it over her shoulder and headed towards the direction she had started, sticking her gun back in her pants. She wanted to get as much distance between herself and the lizard horse. _Whatever the fuck it was._ She tried not to think of more following.

Scully made it a couple yards before she doubled over and vomited water and undigested beef jerky. She heaved, leaned against a tree and tried to take deep breaths. The pain came again, this time it lasted longer and it squeezed her back. She gagged and leaned over but nothing came up. _No no no no._ She tried not to panic as her eyes swamped and she shoved her palms into them to keep the tears at bay. She straightened her back, adjusted her pack and continued forward, yelping slightly as she walked past a tree and metal snagged her arm. She pressed her hand into the scratch on her bicep and looked over at the metal ladder nailed into the tree. _A tree stand._ She almost laughed at the absurdity but the pain returned, stealing her breath and forcing her to double over again, both hands clamping down around her belly. The baby had moved all day. _Hell it had moved all day and all night for weeks._ But it was still now. The vice released her body and she stood up straight again, glancing up at the hide. _No Dana. No._ Before she could convince herself not to pull up on the ladder, she heard a crash in the distance. _Yes Dana. GO!_ She hissed out a breath and pulled her weight up to the first rung of the ladder. She groaned as her body protested and dampness seeped between her thighs. "God, no." She gasped and climbed. After what seemed like an eternity, Scully heaved her body onto the small metal platform and pulled her legs up under herself. She lay on her side, eyes clamped shut and a silent prayer on her lips.

Scully counted the seconds between the pains. Sweat beaded on her forehead and she didn't move from her side. She slid her hand down her pants, between her legs and opened her eyes just enough to see her fingers, darkened by blood. _Four minutes._ She groaned and turned her head, facing the sky. _This is it. This is how it fucking ends. Weeks on a goddamn spaceship, tortured by aliens and I lose my baby in a tree stand in the middle of Canada during a heat wave._ She continued counting. _Six minutes._ The next pain came, but Scully thought it wasn't as strong. She still didn't move. She blew a breathe out between her lips and waited. _8 minutes._ There wasn't a gush of blood with this one and it glanced around her belly, fizzling out before it made it to her back. She opened her eyes and stared into the darkness.

After about three hours the pains seemed to have dissipated, but Scully still had not felt the baby move. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and dug her bottle of water out of her bag, swallowing small mouthfuls until it was half empty. _That was probably dumb._ She was exhausted, hot and uncomfortable. Not to mention terrified. She was terrified. She pulled her flannel shirt over her head and bunched it into a ball, lowering herself to her other side, then rolling on to her back, her knees up. She put both hands over her belly, pulling her sweaty t-shirt up under her breasts and unbuttoning her jeans. With a finger she prodded below her belly button. _Come on baby._ She pressed her lips tightly together and squeezed her eyes shut as a tear slid down to her temple, resting in her hair.

Scully didn't remember falling asleep but when she woke up it was still dark. Her eyes jerked open and she coached herself through the panic rising in her chest. _What was that?_ She hadn't dreamed and nothing was moving below her. She let her eyes close again, breathing deeply through her nose when she was jabbed in the ribs. She laughed out loud, clasping a hand over her mouth and allowing the tears to run freely down her face. _Hey baby. We're okay._


	5. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder's continued search.

They didn't have a car. They had a Humvee. _Score one for g-man_. There were 4 of them, huddled over a small fire. It looked like three men and a woman, or a small man. The way they huddled together, Mulder figured they were not the typical rat pack. Their body language gave off fear. He almost felt bad. _Scully._ Almost. He dropped his bag at the foot of a tree, pulled his knife and skirted around the camp. _Yeah, three men and a woman. Shit._ He didn't want to kill anyone, but he couldn't tell if they were armed. He pulled his gun. He would have to shoot first. _Scully._ He swallowed and moved in closer. They were talking in loud whispers.

"I don't want to, Aaron." The woman was firm.

"You don't have a choice. We don't have a choice. What else are you going to do?" Maybe Aaron answered. One of the other men grunted.

Mulder moved closer and grimaced when he realized what they were doing. _Alien kabobs. Holy shit._ He heard gagging and watched as one of them men got up and heaved a few feet from the fire.

"Nope, I can't. I'll starve, I don't care." The woman threw her hands up in disgust. _I don't blame you, babe._ Mulder watched the group for a while longer and then made his way over to the far side of the Humvee. The keys were in it. _Idiots._ All he had to do was grab his bag, jump in and gun it. _Cake._

"Can I help you?" The racking of a shotgun almost drowned out the deep voice. _Shit._ "Yo, Mike, look at this." The shotgun jabbed at his throat. "Stand up."

Mulder did, his hands raised in submission after sheathing his knife, "how's the lizard steak?" He tried to make light of his situation.

"Fucking nasty" the woman called from somewhere behind the shotgun. Mulder chuckled and the shotgun was pressed into his Adam's apple.

"Who the hell are you?" The guy, who Mulder could only assume was Mike, stared wide eyed at him from behind the protection of the man with the shotgun. The man who had been vomiting was nowhere to be seen.

"Uhh…." Mulder didn't answer. _Who am I?_

"Looks like you want our truck." The woman came up next to the men, though she wasn't really a woman. A girl; eighteen at most, but probably younger.

"Shut up, Hannah. Go back to the fire." Shotgun man snapped. Hannah started to argue and Mulder took a chance; when the man turned to look at the girl, Mulder grabbed the gun by the barrel, twisting it out of the man's hands, dropping it to the hard ground. He pulled his glock out of the waistband of his pants and held it to the man's head. _Cake._

"Shit." The man without the shotgun huffed.

"What do you want?" Mike said, holding his hands up just like Mulder had.

"Uhh guys?" Hannah wasn't behind the men anymore, but Mulder didn't take his eyes off of them. "Guys!" She called again, panic in her voice.

"What, Hannah?" Shotgun man without his gun asked impatiently, his eyes never leaving Mulder's face."

"Aaron is dead."

"Oh, shit." Mike moved away from Mulder and the other man to find Hannah. "Oh shit. Jesus. Eric, she's right. He's fucking dead, man."

_Shotgun man's name is Eric. Aaron is dead. Mike is freaking out. Hannah's a bitch._

"I would not have eaten lizard steaks" Mulder tisked. Hannah cried somewhere in the darkness and Mike paced, Mulder could hear his feet crunching the dry leaves. Eric just stared at him. "Move over here" Mulder motioned to Eric with the gun towards the tree where his pack lay. Eric moved slowly and Mulder nudged him. "Grab my bag." Eric did. "You can have the food in it. Anything has to be better than that shit." Eric didn't move. With his free hand, Mulder jerked his bag out of the man's hands and slung it over his shoulder. _Whatever._ He stuffed the shotgun into the bag and walked backwards to the Humvee and opened the driver side door, slowly slid himself in, glancing towards Hannah crying over the unmoving form of Aaron. Mike stared at him, his face expressionless. Mulder shut the door and locked it, finally lowering his gun. The Humvee purred to life and Mulder hit the gas, jerking the large vehicle forward through the small path in the woods, the fire shrinking behind him in the rearview mirror. He almost felt bad. _Scully Scully Scully._


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scully is not alone.

Two weeks. It took Scully two weeks to make it to the lake. Two more run-ins with the alien dogs, another bout of cramping and two nights in a cabin binging on canned ravioli had slowed her progress down significantly. But she made it. Although when she got there, she wasn't sure what to do next. The lake was clear, but the small houses lining the shore had been burned to the ground. She dug her way through the burned homes, taking what she could, but it seemed futile. _Now what?_ She sat on a rocky beach and threw rocks into the water absentmindedly. _It's so damn hot._ She kicked off her boots and socks, peeled off her flannel shirt and bloodied jeans from her sticky body, standing on the rocks in holey panties and her sweat stained t-shirt that was becoming increasingly too tight. She pulled her hair into a ponytail to get it off her neck and waded into the water. It was cool and she groaned as her body relaxed under the water washing over her legs, up her thighs and then over her belly. She dunked under and stayed under until her lungs burned. She came up for air, taking a deep breath and flipped to her back. Her belly was like a rising moon coming out of the water. She backstroked then pushed herself beneath the surface and listened to the rushing of her heartbeat in her ears and pretended it was the baby's.

When she broke the surface and started heading towards the beach she noticed the figure watching her from the tree line. She pretended not to notice the figure watching her as she washed the blood out of her pants and laid them out to dry, her gun within reach, her body perched on a rock so she could watch the silent statue of a person. _It is a person._ Not an alien, not one of them, not one of the lizard rats. She pulled on her damp pants, too anxious to let them dry.

"What do you want?" She called as she quickly slipped her shirt over her head.

"Do you have anything to eat?" The voice of a boy, not yet matured, called back.

"Why didn't you just take it?" She turned to face the voice in the shadows.

"Don't steal from the living."

"Very noble." She dug through her bag. "I have a bag of Fritos, a granola bar and a can of ravioli." Her mouth watered. _Goddamn that Chef Boyardee._ She glanced at the boy who was now standing. She tightened her hand around her gun.

"Can I have the chips?"

"Not the healthiest choice." She lobbed the small bag towards him and took a few steps back, her gun at her thigh.

He moved out of the shadows and took a few tentative steps forward and snatched the bag, ripping it open and shoveling the corn chips into his mouth. "Do you have a gun?" He asked, crumbs flying.

Scully pursed her lips in both disgust and amusement. The kid could not be more than 14. He was swimming in his clothes, his curly blonde hair was dirty and his face was hollow and gaunt. "Yes. I do."

"Cool" he sat down and polished off the small bag.

She cocked an eyebrow at him, "what's your name?"

"Isaac. What's yours?" He was staring at her, with hazel eyes, her heart panged for a moment.

"Dana."

"Dana what?"

"That seems kind of personal, Isaac" she smirked.

"Haven't met many people" he shrugged and continued to stare.

"I guess not" she sighed. _What are you doing, Dana?_ "Where are you staying, Isaac?"

"Nowhere. I mean, anywhere I can find I guess. Where are you staying?"

She unconsciously rubbed at her belly but quickly stopped when she noticed the boy's eyes drop to her middle. She licked her lips. "Nowhere. I was going to start walking around the lake."

"Can I come, too?"

 _He must be so lonely. I am so lonely._ She convinced herself that what she was doing was sane, that she wasn't endangering herself and her child, that the company would be good; the extra pair of eyes would be good. _Hazel eyes._ "Hey Isaac?"

"Yeah?" He asked enthusiastically. He was like a puppy, begging to be loved, to belong.

"Do you mind if I pat you down?"

"What?"

"Check you for weapons." She felt oddly self conscious about the request.

"Are you a cop?"

"Something like that."

"Yeah. You can. I have a knife." He held up a small hunting knife in a leather sheath and dropped it at his feet and moved towards her. His hands raised slightly. He grinned at her sheepishly, his dirty blonde hair falling into his eyes."

"Thanks" she murmured as she quickly ran her hands over his lean frame. _Too skinny._ He had nothing on him. No fat, no weapons sans his knife, nothing. She looked him over. He was tall, a couple inches taller than her, but fresh faced with kind eyes.

"Do you want my knife?"

She shook her head, "you need that." She turned and pulled her bag up to her back. "Which way?"

Isaac looked behind them then past her down the shore. "That way." He pointed the way he was looking. Scully shrugged and turned to start walking the shore. Isaac fell into perfect step with her, watching his feet move clumsily over the rocks, occasionally glancing at Dana. "You're pregnant."

Scully nodded, "yeah." Isaac mirrored her nod but didn't say anything more.

The pair walked in silence until the pale sun started to dip below the lake. Scully swallowed at the thought of being so exposed at night. They should have stopped sooner. Isaac, almost as if reading her mind, quipped, "we should find a place to stop." He stopped and turned away from the lake, peering into the thick woods. "I can go look" he nodded towards the darkening tree line.

"I don't think we should split up." Scully instantly bit her tongue. She had no right to be so protective over this boy who had survived longer out here than she had. _Maybe I am getting maternal._

"Okay," Isaac looked at her, waiting for her next move.

She pulled her gun out of the waistband of her pants, "lets go look." He smiled and followed her into the woods. "Have you seen those…."

"Yeah" he cut her off. "They smell so bad!"

Scully smiled and glanced over at him; he was smiling back at her. "Yes. They do."

"They're aliens."

"I know."

"They killed everyone. Not those things. I mean, the ships. You know?"

"I'm sorry, Isaac." She touched the sleeve of his shirt and he turned his head away from her. He stumbled and Scully grabbed his arm to keep him from going down. He shrugged his thanks and then turned to look at what tripped him up. Scully stopped and looked around; the sun was almost gone. _Too dark._ She was getting nervous, it wasn't safe out in the woods, not at night.

"Dana, look," Isaac kicked at a half buried railroad tie then jogged to another one a few feet away and then inspected a large outcrop of giant boulders. "Dana!" Isaac's voice sounded distant and Scully's head snapped up and she ran towards the rocks.

"Isaac?" She looked up the rocks and called again, "hey! Isaac!"

"Down here! Dana look at this, it's so cool!" Isaac's voice called her from below her feet to the left and she followed it to an opening in the rocks. _A cave. Cool._ A small flame twinkled to life and the faint smell of sulfur wafted over her.

"Isaac?" Scully's eyes were not adjusting to the dark and her extra weight made her nervous, her steps jerked, hands held out in front of her.

"Matches. And other stuff!" He lit another match and she heard the crumpling of paper, a larger flame caught, Isaac's shadow cast long across a far wall.

Scully blinked and looked around, "nice find." Isaac smiled at her as she sat heavily, leaning her back against a wall as the boy made a small fire and examined the junk strewn around the cave. _Someone had been here. They could be coming back._ The gun pressing in her back gave her a bit of confidence, but the walk had taken everything out of her. She was exhausted. The entrance was small, if someone, if something came, she could hit them easily with one bullet. She felt confident they would be okay there tonight.

"Can we stay?"

Scully nodded and closed her eyes, leaning her head against the cold wall."

"Cool!"

_Cool._


	7. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scully and Isaac's survival

Scully woke up in the same position she had fallen asleep, leaning against the cave wall. She blinked, adjusting to the dim light and jerked with the realization of where she was and that she wasn't alone. _Isaac._ The boy was curled up on an old moving pad sound asleep, his blonde hair tangled and sticking out every which way, his face relaxed. _He is so young._ Scully shifted her body and groaned inwardly as she reached for her bag. A thin cotton blanket slid off of her belly and she smiled at the thought of Isaac covering her when she had been asleep. She swallowed a mouthful of water and chastised herself for sleeping so deeply, they were lucky to have not been disturbed. Looking around the cave, Scully realized that it wasn't as small as she had initially thought, it extended into cool depths past where the light could touch and she realized it must have been some sort of mine. Someone had lived there, possibly still lived there. The dirt floor was covered with trash, broken tools, rags of old clothes and other things she couldn't recognize. Behind Isaac's sleeping for she noticed a small pile of cans, what looked like old boxes of dried goods and a few bottles of water and what looked like dented soft drink cans. Her stomach rumbled at the thought of food and the baby replied with a ninja-kick to her bladder. _Chill kid, I know._

Isaac stirred and Scully watched him, hoping not to scare him. "Dana?" He asked before opening his eyes.

"Hey Isaac."

"Are you okay?"

She smiled, a real smile at the boys thoughtfulness, "I'm fine Isaac, did you sleep?"

Isaac sat up and stretched his long arms and legs; Scully thought he looked a bit like a baby horse, all limbs. "Yeah, I slept, I'm hungry."

"Yeah, me too," Scully stood and stretched her own arms above her head, her fingertips brushing the low ceiling of the cave.

Isaac crawled to the small pile Scully noticed earlier, "Here, what do you want? Crackers? Uhhh, baked-beans? Gross. Spam and two cans of green beans," he looked up at her enthusiastically.

"Doritos?" Scully asked, her eyebrow cocked at the young boy. Isaac's eyes widened and he pulled out the small red bag he had slipped into his shirt, his face blushing. "I'm just kidding!" Dana barked a laugh "I'll take the green beans." She watched with amusement as relief flooded his face and he tore into his chips. "You should eat the other can, might do you some good," she suggested as she pierced the can with the opener from her bag. She thought about draining the juice but thought otherwise and drank it, holding back a gag. Isaac looked on, horrified.

"Disgusting!" He poured the crumbs from his bag and licked his red stained fingers.

"Yeah… gross. I'm going out…." Scully made her way towards the small cave entrance with her can of beans.

"Gotta pee?" Isaac didn't look up, but instead popped the top to a soda and chugged half of it in one gulp.

"Uhhuh" She made her way into the woods, a belch echoing behind her. She grimaced and put a hand to her belly. _You better be a girl._

Scully did her business and sat down on a rock and finished off her can of green beans. After a few days of processed food, even the canned veggies made her feel better. _I really should make Isaac eat the rest._

Like clockwork, she heard her name from behind her, "Dana!"

"Over here!" She called over her shoulder.

Isaac jogged over to her, "I thought you left."

Scully narrowed her eyes, "I wouldn't leave you."

The boy nodded with a bit of embarrassment, licked his lips and looked around, "we should stay here. It seems safe."

Scully thought about it, and looked around at the dead trees. "We should circle around a bit, make sure we're not in someone's camp. I don't want to be caught off guard. It wouldn't hurt to scout for more supplies," she added as her stomach grumbled again. If Isaac heard it, he didn't say anything. "Isaac?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think?"

He nodded, "good idea, but we should stay together."

"Okay."

After finishing off the food sans beans and packing Scully's bag with the rest of the water they headed back towards the lake, Isaac leaving small bits of string and other crumbs as a trail so they could find their way back to the cave. It was midday and Scully swore it was getting hotter, not cooler like it should be in Canada at that time of year. Isaac stripped his long t-shirt and tied it around his waist; a sweaty ACDC shirt clung to his thin frame. _I should give him the ipod. All rock._ She peeled off her own flannel top and slung it over her shoulder. They marched through the muggy heat in silence until the reached the lake. They walked the rocky beach, Isaac chunking rocks into the water, occasionally concentrating on skipping a few across the smooth water. Scully trudged on, keeping an eye on their surroundings. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Isaac and Scully stood still, the splash of a rock echoing around them. "Did you hear that?" Isaac asked?

"Yeah." Scully shielded her eyes from the sun and looked around at the sky. She couldn't tell if clouds were building in the sky behind the smog.

"It hasn't rained since they came" Isaac offered, spinning around, searching the sky.

Scully dropped her hand and looked at him. Another rumble, louder. _I don't think it's going to rain._ "Isaac…."

"We should hide. He headed towards the tree line, lighting tugging at her hand as he brushed past her. Scully followed, wordlessly, the familiar feeling of fear gripping her chest and she pressed her hand to the gun at her spine. Isaac pulled her, a litter rougher than she would have liked, down to the base of a large tree trunk. "Don't move. If we don't move, they may not know we are here" Isaac whispered.

Scully's hand flew to the base of her neck. _Oh, they know._ Suddenly, the sun disappeared and the woods grew dark around them, Scully and Isaac looked up to watch a huge black ship glide silently above the treetops. Despite the heat, Scully's skin broke out into goose bumps. They both jumped as the ship suddenly fired a stream of red blazes down to the surface, the air cracking around them like an electrical storm. Scully pressed her hands to her ears, not taking her eyes off the ship above them. Smoke plumed from the fire and the ship slowly moved on.

Scully glanced at the boy who stared back at her then grinned, "they didn't find us… yet. Come on, we have to get out of the area. Those lizard beasts will be here any minute."

_Shit._

Scully and Isaac walked for two weeks, the ship reappeared twice, the lizard dogs not long after. They were lucky and kept out of the paths of both. The heat was suffocating and it never rained. Fires burned around them, sometimes the smoke so strong they choked and gagged, covering their faces with their shirts, eyes pouring tears. They stumbled upon small towns that hadn't been destroyed, passed people who never looked up from the dusty road, but Scully kept her gun trained on them anyway. They ate well in the towns, but never dared to stay long. Scully packed her bag with extra clothes and water when she could. Her shoulders ached. Isaac kept her distracted and entertained by making her laugh. She was grateful for his presence and found herself growing fond of the boy. They talked about their lives, Isaac was nosy and asked a lot of questions, but when Scully tried to return fire, he clamed up, only speaking briefly of his family he hadn't found when he came home from school to his home burned to the ground. Scully didn't push him.

They left the familiarity of the lake and the cave and headed up, up towards the mountains, hoping to find relief from the constant heat and smoky air.

"Have you ever shot anyone?" Isaac asked, a few paces ahead of her, swinging a large stick, occasionally cracking it against the dead trees.

"Yes"

"Did they die?" Isaac turned to look at her, walking backwards.

She looked at him and pursed her lips, "maybe."

He shrugged, "have you ever been shot?"

"Yes."

"Did it hurt?"

Scully shrugged her own shoulders, "not really."

"Liar" Isaac laughed and turned forward, scrambling up some loose rocks. Scully followed albeit, slower.

"Yeah" she huffed, "it hurt very badly."

What kind of cop were you?

"FBI" She smirked, expecting his reaction. _Cool!_

"What?" He spun around and looked at her, eyes wide, "that's so cool!" And suddenly it was word vomit. Isaac asked her questions on top of questions, never giving her a chance to answer. He provided theories on how to catch "bad guys" and decided that FBI badges seemed silly in their small size, opting for a Texas star. Scully hadn't disagreed. After awhile they went back to their silent pace, moving slowly upward, occasionally glancing behind them at the blue water. _I should have gone swimming again._

When the sun started to set they made a fireless camp below a large outcrop of boulders. Scully felt like she was succumbing faster and faster to fatigue each day. When she hit the ground, it took everything she had not to fall asleep. Isaac walked circles around their camp, his hands holding Scully's pistol steady. She was reluctant to teach him, but he was serious and eager to learn, to help, to protect her. Scully gave in after three days of constant begging. She listened to the sound of his feet against the stones and leaves moving around her as she sipped water and munched on stale cheerios. She pulled her knees up and rested her elbows on her knees and held her head in her hands, staring down at her belly. With Isaac patrolling, Scully gave herself a few moments to grieve her situation and contemplate her child's future. She didn't get past hemorrhaging under a tree when the crack of a gunshot jerked her out of her bleak trance. She was on her feet faster than she had a right to be and made a dash towards the darkness where the shot still echoed and the sound of snarling grew.


	8. 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More of Mulder's journey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am realizing, as I write this that I am more motivated to write Scully's parts, so, if you have not already noticed, this is a Scully centered story. I wont leave Mulder behind, but please be aware that it is really not about him.

 

 

Mulder sat in the Humvee and took deep breaths. _In through the nose. Out through the mouth._ It wasn’t working. He wasn’t calm, far from it. The truck had served him well. _Had._ But even the toughest of vehicles can’t compete with 4 blown tires. _A fucking spike strip._ Just south of south east of Moose Jaw, Canada, he has been blowing through back roads, rarely going below 70, siphoning gas from stranded and deserted cars, eating what he found, and never sleeping; he has started to feel positive, and then the spike strip. He hadn’t been paying attention; the roads were covered with debris anyway, so had he been looking, he probably wouldn’t have seen it anyway. But he felt it. Upwards of 80 miles per hour, he should have flipped, he should have careened off the steep roadside and into the trees, and he should have been ejected. The tires blew with ear deafening bangs and the Humvee jolted violently to the right, and then to the left, the back end fishtailing the opposite ways. Mulder held the wheel steady and forced himself to not jerk and panic. His foot eased on the break and the vehicle protested, black smoke billowed from all four tires, one rotor was screeching on the asphalt and blowing sparks. He careened to a stop, sideways, but no worse for ware. He took deep breaths. “Fuck!” He pounded on the dash, then the window, and then the dash again. _Scully Scully Scully._

He was walking again. His pack felt heavier and his legs felt weaker. The driving had made him spoiled. He stopped to examine the spike strip. Someone knew what they were doing. He held his gun tight in his hand and made himself be hyper vigilant, scanning the dead trees and keeping an eye out behind him. He didn’t see or hear anything, not that he expected to, but he hadn’t expected spike strips, so he wasn’t taking any chances. _It’s so hot!_ Sweat poured down his face and into his eyes. His t-shirt was soaked and he felt nauseous. He had not bothered to keep track of the days, let alone the month, but he knew it wasn’t supposed to be this hot, not in Canada. His rationed water was not going to last, but he pounded a water bottle anyway. He knew better than to get dehydrated. He thought of Scully and her matter of fact voice lecturing him. He had laughed her off. _Asshole._ What he wouldn’t give for those lectures again, to hear her chiding him for a dumb decision. To feel her cool hands on his skin, her warm body pressed against his. What he wouldn’t give to kiss her. _I just want to see her. I just want to know she is okay._ While driving, he briefly toyed with the idea of getting onto one of the ships. The irrational part of his mind told him that he could find her, he could make them give her to him. He could trade himself. The rational part of his mind, and Scully’s voice calmly told him it probably wasn’t a very good idea. He had lost count of the ships as they slowly sailed through the foggy sky, or bellowed their alarms before blasting away, causing fires that spread in all directions. She could be anywhere, on any one of those ships, or not. He stuck to his plan the Gunmen had said Fermont. So he was going to Fermont.

 


	9. 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of Scully's journey.

 

“Isaac!!” Scully screamed the boy’s name and ran towards his echoing screams of pain and terror. Scully’s blood ran cold and she thought she might pass out when she came upon the scene. Two of the alien beasts were tearing at the boy, his clothes were shredded, and his skin was bloodied and torn. He was pounding, screaming and kicking; doing anything he could to get free. Scully’s frantic eyes searched for the gun. “Isaac! The gun! Where is the gun?” She watched as his glassy eyes looked to his right, just for a moment, then went back to the alien gnawing on his shoulder. It was about five feet away from him, sticking out of dried leaves, the silver hardly noticeable in the grey sand. Her heart lurched. She wasn’t going to be able to get to. She looked around her and headed towards another outcrop of rocks, a sheer cliff, roughly 15 feet high that opened onto a small ledge. She ran towards it, wedging her boot in the rocks and pulled herself awkwardly up. Her breath came out is short pants, her back strained and her fingernails tore. “Hey!” She screamed over her shoulder as she gained a bit more height, “hey you fuckers, over here!” The animals dropped the boy and looked over at where she was steadily climbing. _Please._ Isaac was motionless between the thick legs of the beasts and she hoped her voice and movement would be enough to deter them from him. It was. They snarled, saliva pooling in their lips and dripping in long strands down to the dirt. They started towards her.

After what seemed like eternity but was probably only a minute at most, Scully found herself perched precariously on a rock ledge, looking down at four glowing eyes below her. Jaws snapping, their claws raked the rock wall as they unsuccessfully tried to get to her. She tried to focus through the dark to see Isaac, but lost her balance and forced herself focused on her position on the rocks. She swallowed hard and clung to the stone behind her. This was as far as she had gotten in her plan and she had no idea what to do next. Two shots made the next decision. The blasts startled her and her foot slipped but she kept her spot as she looked down at the slumped and whining aliens. Another shot, then another, and the beasts were still. Isaac walked into view, then collapsed, the pistol in his hand. “Isaac!” Scully scrambled to find a way down, her belly scraping the rock wall as she shakily lowered herself down the slick face. Realizing she didn’t have the strength, her arms shaking, she braced herself and jumped down the last 10 feet. She landed on her feet but her teeth jarred in her head and her knees ached. She spun around and ran to the boy.

Isaac’s teeth were chatting and his eyes were unfocused and glassy. Scully ran her hands over the thin body, hissing between her teeth when her skin came into contact with the alien saliva that burned into her flesh. Isaac’s right shoulder and left leg were in bad shape. Blood poured from his thigh and white tendons shown ugly and raw in his shoulder. Scully stripped her long sleeved shirt from her waist and wrapped it around Isaac’s thigh, pulling with all of her strength to make a tunicate above the large gash. He groaned as she pulled his ripped shirt from his shoulder, plucking out bits of leaves and debris. “I’m sorry, Isaac.”

“Dana.”

“Don’t talk, okay?”

“Dana!” His bloodied hand grasped around her wrist and his eyes focused on her face. She stared down at him. “Didn’t miss.”

“What?”

He held up a finger gun at him. “Told you I would be good.”

“You sure showed me.” She tried to laugh, her lips tight in a frown as she moved her hands over the wounds. His skin flamed where the saliva had dripped and smeared. “We have to get you to camp, I can’t see anything and we have to clean these wounds.” Isaac groaned his protest but pushed himself up into a sitting position with his good arm. Scully plucked a leaf from his hair. “I’ll help you. Okay?” He nodded and Scully crouched down next to him, throwing his good arm over her shoulder. “Ready?”

“Yeah” his voice was low and pained and when Dana stood, hauling him up with her, he yelled out, “stop! I can’t.”

“Yes you can Isaac” Scully grunted under his weight and shifter her body forward. “It’s not far. You can do this.” They moved painfully slow to their small camp only a few yards away and both of them flopped in heaps to the ground when they made it. Isaac groaned and clutched his shoulder.

“Where are you matches Isaac?” Scully was rifling through their packs. “Isaac!” She pinched his good leg, “focus.”

“Ow!” He patted his pocked and Scully dug her hand in and pulled out the little box. “You can’t light a fire.”

“Yes I can, I am very good at it, thank you very much.” Scully pulled small twigs into a pile. “We need more wood.”

“They will see.”

“They already saw, Isaac. We don’t have a choice, I can’t see your wounds to properly clean and dress them. Don’t argue with me.” She mocked a glare at him. Isaac dropped his head to the ground and watched Scully with half-mast eyes as she got up and walked a few yards around their camp collecting larger sticks.

The fire lit easily and cast enough light for Scully to see Isaac’s injuries a bit better. They were ugly. On top of the torn flesh that no doubt needed stitches, they were filthy, caked with dirt and bits of dried plant matter. The surrounding skin when the alien’s venomous saliva had touched was puckered and blistered. Scully pulled out a water bottle and poured the cool water liberally over the wounds then rinsed her own hands wishing for some sort of antiseptic and antibiotics and painkillers. She didn’t know how the kid was still conscious. Isaac watched her clean his wounds but never cried out. She rummaged through their bags, not certain what she was looking for but hoping something useful would magically show up. Nothing did. _Shit. This is not good._

“Cauterize it.” Isaac broke the silence and jerked Scully out of her worried trance.

“Huh?”

“Use the fire.”

“Isaac, that won’t work. The burns will only cause you more pain and seal in any bacteria causing more infection.”

“They do it all the time in movies, just use hot coals on the bleeders.”

“Bleeders?” The corners of her mouth turned up slightly as she furrowed her eyebrows and rubbed at the bridge of her nose.

“It’s like the olden days. You can be Doctor Quinn Medicine Woman.”

 

_***_

The sun rose slowly, and Scully watched as it peeked through the trees. She hadn’t slept, but thankfully Isaac had and continued to, but it was a fitful fevered sleep. She sat against the rocks, her knees pulled up as far as she could get them, her arms crossed over her belly. The situation was dire, she knew it, and the more she thought about it the bleaker it got. Isaac was not going to live through this, but his death was going to be long and painful. Her breath caught in her chest and her body shuddered at the thought. The bleeding from Isaac’s wounds had slowed during the night and finally stopped, there was no need to cauterize the “bleeders.” But they needed stitches; the muscle was torn and from what she could tell some tendons had been shredded in his shoulder as well. His thigh was another story, though the bleeding was strong, his artery hadn’t been hit, but the punctures were down to his bone and the saliva had caused major swelling and blistering, she was certain an infection was already brewing below the purple and black surface. They were in for a tough journey.

Scully’s belly shifted as the baby stretched and she couldn’t help but smile as she gently pressed below her navel. She knew she was a few weeks past the halfway point, and the thought of bringing her child into the world made her blood run cold. But the thought of losing her baby caused the same reaction. She willed her baby to be strong, to fight, to live and then willed the same of Isaac, knowing both of their fates were hanging in the balance. Scully shifted and leaned over to her bag, pulling out the tattered map. Canada was vast and desolate; there was nothing around them for miles. Occasionally, at a high point they had been able to see the lake between the trees, their idea of going north, to go up, had been the wrong one. The forest would offer protection sure, but there was going to be nothing for them, no little towns, no roads, nothing. They needed to be going south, down, towards the states, closer to cities, closer to the aliens, to the vicious beasts, towards supplies food and help. Both situations were bad; both had death written all over them.

“Mom…. Mom!” The terrified cry jolted through Scully and she was next to Isaac in a heartbeat. His skin was hot and sweaty, tears poured from his closed eyes.

“Isaac. Shh, Isaac, its okay, you’re okay.” Scully held his hand and pushed his damp hair from his face.

“Mom” he cried again, but with relief and clutched at her hand.

Scully’s heart tore, “Isaac, it’s Dana. Can you wake up? Can you hear me?”

Isaac’s eyes snapped open and he stared up at Scully’s worried face, his eyes confused, “Mom…”

“Dana, it’s Dana, Isaac.”

He shook his head and tears welled up in his eyes. “Dana.”

“Yeah.” She held his hand and watched the tears streak his face. “Are you thirsty?” He shook his head again and sighed. “Are you in pain?” _Dumb question._

“This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“No, it wasn’t.” Scully sat back on her haunches, releasing his hand and ran it through her tangled hair.

“No, I mean…” his voice trailed off.

Scully narrowed her eyes at him as he closed his and turned his head away from her and she sighed deeply, “Isaac you need to try and drink some water,” she nudged him with a water bottle and he grunted a response. Scully huffed and set the bottle next to him. “I am going to go for a walk, okay? I won’t be long, just going to see if I can see anything.” She didn’t expect an answer and she didn’t get one.

 

***

Scully sat with her bare feet in the shallow creek, like the air, it was strangely warm and not refreshing like she was hoping, but it was water and she was thankful for it. She found the creek on her walk while Isaac slept, she had filled a water bottle up and brought it back to camp, poured it over Isaac’s fevered head, forced him to drink and then headed back towards the creek. She rationed their food earlier and the lack of it made her nervous. She was hoping they would have found something, anything by now, but that hope was dwindling fast. What they had wouldn’t sustain the both of them for much longer. She needed to find something more, but she couldn’t leave Isaac. She was torn. _What would Mulder do?_ The thought made her laugh out loud. Had she been hurt, he wouldn’t leave her side, they would starve alone in the middle of nowhere, but at least they would have each other. Starving wasn’t an option, there was a third person she had to think about, four if she counted Mulder, though she tried not to, assuming the worst. Her baby had to come first. Scully rubbed her wet hands over her face and wished for a breeze.

“Hey.”

Scully jumped to her feet, spun around and let out a terrified gasp when she saw Isaac standing in front of her. “Isaac.”

“I’m sorry I scared you.” He took a step towards her.

“Isaac,” his name came out of her in a whisper. “What are you… how are you here?” She looked at his bare chest, his shoulder without a mark on it. She felt the blood drain from her face and she looked down an around her feet for her gun.

“Dana…” Isaac reached towards her and brushed her shoulder.

Scully jerked away, “don’t, please don’t. This isn’t real.” She felt like she was going to pass out, the ground moved under her and she felt herself sway. She pushed her hands out in front of her to balance.

“Dana?” Isaac called to her.

Scully heard him call her over the blood pounding in her eyes, saw him between the lights dancing in front of her eyes, he was so far away. She thought of Mulder before her mind went dark.


	10. 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A shocking truth is revealed.

  
 

“Put your head between your knees.”

“I can’t get my head between my knees!” Scully swatted Isaac’s hand away from her as she sat, knees up, next to the small creek. Isaac, seemingly fully recovered, crouched next to her, his eyes anxious. Her breathing was starting to even out and she looked over at the boy, “how?”

“It’s a long story.”

“We’ve got nothing but time.”

“Not sure you will believe me.”

She snorted, “try me.”

“I am not sure how to start.”

“Just spit it out, Isaac.”

“I’m supposed to take care of you.” He looked at her then quickly looked away, her eyes boring into him.

“What?” The word was deep and slow.

Isaac looked around, worried, “the world has changed.”

“Yeah, I can see that, Isaac” she was starting to get irritated.

“No, I mean, really changed, or is going to really change. The human race isn’t going to get wiped out. The aliens don’t win.” He stopped at looked at her when she scoffed but continued, “a select group of people were, are able to overthrow them, to access their knowledge and their abilities.”

“Okay… what abilities.” _What the fuck. What the fuck?!_

“I am not supposed to tell you!”

Scully stood up, anger flashed across her face, “Isaac, this is my life, my baby’s life, I don’t know what is happening or how I am going to survive, or who you are, but I need you to tell me what is going on, now!” _Don’t hit him, Dana._ She clenched and unclenched her hands at her side lightly hitting her thighs.

“It’s my life.”

“What?”

“My name is Isaac William Mulder. I am the son of Dana Katherine Scully and Fox William Mulder. I’m your son,” he glanced at her belly. Scully blanched, words unable to form in her mouth and her mind unable to form a coherent thought. She just stared at the boy, her eyes brimming, not certain if she believed him. _No no no. This isn’t real. This kid is, this isn’t real._ “I can’t really explain it to you, but you and some other people, it doesn’t matter who, were able to form a sort of survivor’s colony. They… you, spent years developing the alien technology. You discovered a vaccine for the virus; you cured people. The alien technology gave the human race unbelievable power, power that logically, to you now, shouldn’t be possible. But that power, that knowledge, gave me the ability to be here, here when you needed me, to help you, to help us to survive and get back to Mulder.”

Scully took a deep ragged breath and she stared hard at Isaac. His eyes. Those hazel eyes. Mulder’s eyes. _Oh my God._ His blonde curls and straight roman nose with the splattering of freckles. He looked like her brother Charlie. He looked like her. She gasped and held her hands over her mouth. “How?” She finally managed to croak out.

He shook his head, “its complicated. I don’t really understand it myself. But you…” his voice wavered and he bit him bottom lip, unsure.

“You can say it.”

“You don’t know that I am here. You are going to be so mad. But I had to; I had to come to help you both to survive. When we talked about it…”

Scully interrupted him, “we?”

“Yeah, you and me, in the future, my time. We talked about how you were pretty certain you would kill yourself had your future self come. Same with dad.” He chuckled a bit. Scully shrugged in acceptance. _Probably true._ “It wouldn’t matter anyway, we are not able to travel back to where we are already existing. I technically don’t exist, you know?” He pointed at her belly. “We were talking in hypotheticals anyway. At least you thought we were. Anyway, after I get you to the destination point, I am going out for him. He is on his way, but he won’t know where you are. And if he doesn’t find you….” He trailed off, staring at his tattered sneakers, kicking at the dust.

“If he doesn’t find me, what? What happens?”

“He’s going to die.” He watched Scully visibly recoil at his words. “I have to make sure you find each other. You are supposed to be together, with me.” Isaac pushed his fingers into his eyes, holding back the tears that threatened to spill. “I have to know my Dad.”

Scully’s eyes flashed at the realization of what he was saying to her. _Mulder doesn’t survive. They don’t end up together; he doesn’t raise their child with her. And here he was: their child, breaking the rules to make sure that doesn’t happen. Traveling in time by some alien technology to find them. He really was going to be in big trouble._ She swallowed, “where is the destination point?”

“Another week or so of walking, if I remember correctly. You don’t have the best memory from when this all happened. You followed a stream north, to a hunter’s cabin. That’s where we are going.”

Scully was still reeling and felt light-headed again. She looked at the small creek. “Is this it?”

Isaac shrugged, “I think so.”

“Isaac?”

“Yeah?”

“How are you healed?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Isaac laughed and shrugged, “alien DNA.”

 

***

 

The march continued, Isaac followed closely behind Scully as they made their way through the woods, up the slope of the mountain; following the shallow creek that seemed to get wider the further they went. They didn’t talk much, Scully was shock-y from the recent realization and event and she had so many questions that she couldn’t keep them straight. Isaac was firm in his resolution that he wouldn’t give much from their future away, but he told her enough that she was satisfied with who he was, though her logical mind still struggled with the reality of the situation. He had done a good job of playing his role, lost boy struggling to survive, feigning surprise at Scully being an FBI agent, too well; she felt a bit silly. Occasionally as they walked, she looked back at him; she studied his face when he wasn’t paying attention. He was lanky, like Mulder, and his eyes were unmistakably his fathers as was his sense of humor, but how much he looked like her brother Charlie brought tears to her eyes. The only blonde of the Scully clan, Charlie had stood out, he was different, and Scully was proud that her son would be too. She was secretly thankful that Isaac had her nose, as much as she loved Mulder’s nose, she couldn’t imagine Isaac with out his strong roman arch like hers. He really was perfect.

By early evening Scully was exhausted, “Isaac, we have to take a break.” She turned to look at him and dropped her pack under a large tree a few yards from the stream.

He threw his down next to her after pulling out a half full bottle of water and handing it to her. She accepted it graciously. “It’s been weird calling you, Dana.”

“It’s weird that you’re my son.” She smirked at him.

“Yeah, I guess it must be. You look different.”

“How do I look for pushing 50?”

Isaac gave her a look, arching an eyebrow, “Your hair is longer, lighter, and you’re skinnier…”

“Well?” She patted her stomach and cocking her head at him with pursed but amused lips.

“No, I mean, your face. You look like… you look like my mom. Now, you look like Dana.” He shrugged and pulled off his shoes and socks, rolling his jeans to wade in the water. “I come early, by the way.”

Scully was lowering herself onto the ground, awkwardly pulling off her own boots, she stopped mid sock and looked over at him, “what?”

“I’m born early.” He picked up a rock from the middle of the stream and threw it as hard as he could into the woods, satisfied by the crack it made on a dead tree.

“How early?” Scully felt anxiety creep into her belly.

“I don’t know. A few weeks? It ends up being okay, I mean, look at me!” He spread his long arms out and faced her with a smile almost as wide as his wingspan. “But” he lowed his arms “we have to get there soon so I can go after dad.

 _Dad._ The word felt foreign in her ears when referring to Mulder. “Do you know where he is?”

“No not really. I have to go back, home, I mean, to my time and pinpoint him, like I did for you.”

Scully mouthed the word “pinpoint” silently. She didn’t understand what he was saying, but she knew better than to press him. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know anyway. So she just nodded and finished pulling off her socks then rolled up her own pant legs and waded into the stream after her son.


	11. 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The cabin

 

Isaac was yards ahead of Scully, running through the trees like he lived in the forest. Scully was slow, she had gotten slower and because of her, the trip to the cabin was long and arduous with frequent rest breaks that turned into hour or longer naps. She trudged forward, propelled by the image of a small cabin waiting for her, a cabin with a bed. _A bed._

“Mom!” Isaac called from somewhere ahead of her and she squinted. He was barreling towards her. “I mean” he was breathing heavy, a smile on his face, “Dana!”

“Are you okay?” Scully was constantly worried about Isaac; every crash in the forest, every woop and holler he made was cause for alarm.

“A road! There’s a road up there, I mean, it’s a dirt road, sorta. Like gravel and dirt. Come on!” He tugged at her hand, his smile and excitement infectious.

She sighed and smiled at him, “Okay, I’m coming.” She stretched her back and Isaac eyed her skeptically. “I said I’m coming!” she huffed and followed him through the woods. _A change of scenery will be nice._ After a few minutes the terrain flattened out and they stood on what could have been a road. They stood, unmoving for a few moments, looking down both ends. “Did you know there was a road?”

Isaac shook his head, “you never mentioned it.”

Scully rolled her eyes. _It would have been nice to know there was a damn road they could have been walking on this whole time._ “It can’t be much further.”

“Lets go!” Isaac’s long legs moved quickly and in no time, Scully was again lagging behind him, literally in his dust. Her back ached and she walked slightly bent over, her back curved, stretching. It helped a little, but all she wanted to do was sleep. Her body felt weak, unprepared to house a child inside of her. But every time she worried, she looked up and watched the thin boy run ahead of her and she felt better. He was going to be okay. _He._ She was pushing 30 weeks, she thought, maybe a little less. Her days and weeks had blurred together and she was irritated with herself for not keeping track. Isaac broke her from her thoughts.

“I found it!” He bent over, hands on his knees, sweat dripping from his forehead and his breath coming heavy. “Found it” he said again and pointed up the road.

“Lets go!” Scully picked up her pace and tugged at the boys shoulder. He smiled and jogged after her.

 

The cabin was the most beautiful thing Scully had ever seen. It was built into the side of a hill; old brown moss and vines covered the wood planked roof. The sides were made of stacked stone with a small outhouse to the side made of the same. The door was heavy and locked with a large dead bolt above their heads. Isaac pulled it easily and pushed the door open and it groaned its welcome. They stood in the middle of a small windowless room, blinking their adjusting eyes. Scully did the cabin a quick once over. In the back far left corner a double bed was pressed up to the wall covered in a red dusty quilt. To the right of the bed was a pot bellied stove with a piped chimney that made its way out of the ceiling. Beside the stove was a large threadbare arm chair and a small round table. Shelving lined the right wall, jars of food, a few dishes and mugs filled the top shelves, and below it was packed with chopped wood. A blue trunk sat firmly at the foot of the bed proceeded by a grey wool rug that covered most of the floor. Scully turned and looked at the front door they had entered. Next to the door a makeshift sink with piping that led out, and a pitcher for water. _This cant be._ Scully dropped her bag on the floor in front of the bed and sat down, the spring squeaked. She shook her head.

Isaac, who was staring up at the large elk skull above the front door turned at looked at Scully’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“How is this possible?”

Isaac looked confused, “what do you mean?”

“This cabin. We just stumble upon it? Fully stocked, after weeks of being on the run?” She looked around the cabin again disbelieving.

Isaac sat next to her, “I am sure there are hunting cabins everywhere, you just have to find them. Hunters always leave them well stocked for the next season, and sometimes just incase another hunter comes by, they have a place to stay.”

Scully turned her head to give him a questioning look.

“I uh, I go hunting with Uncle Bill and Matt a lot during deer season. We have a small lodge in Maine. You uh, mom goes sometimes.” Isaac looked away from her and down at his hands.

Scully sat in silence, absorbing what the boy had just said, after a moment she let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding, “I guess you know your stuff then, huh?”

“It’s not so hard. I can see something and remember it. Like taking pictures with your brain. If I do something once, I can normally do it again. Like cleaning a deer.”

“You got that from….”

“Dad. Yeah. I got a lot from him, I think.” They sat in an awkward silence for a few moments until Isaac jumped up, “I’m going to go look around, okay?”

Scully nodded and watched him head out the front door. She lay back on the bed, the old mattress supporting her back more than she could have hoped for. Had she allowed herself, she could have fallen asleep right then and there, dead to the world for hours. But she hauled her body up and started making inventory of her new home. It was almost too good to be true and Scully quietly prepared herself for some disaster to take everything away from them. The little cabin was stocked with caned vegetables and fruit preserves, dried meats and enough firewood to heat the cabin for months, though it would not be necessary. The trunk was full of old hotel toiletries, towels, blankets and a first aid kit. The stream was close by and provided fresh water that could be stored in two bins next to the cabin. The outhouse was primitive but Isaac found a large tin tub that he cleaned out and pulled onto the small porch knowingly.

“You can heat water up on the stove and have a bath.”

Scully smiled and sighed at the thought. _I would do terrible things for a bath._ “Thank you, Isaac.”

He smiled at her, “it’s a pretty nice set up.”

Scully nodded and popped open a small can of carrots, “mhmm.”

“You miss it.”

“What?” She asked around a mouthful of pickled carrot.

“We stayed her for awhile, you and me, when I was a baby. You miss it. This place saved us,” Isaac said with a satisfied tone. “It’s a lot better that what I imagined.”

Scully looked around and nodded, “it doesn’t seem real.”

“There are 9 bullets left.” Isaac sat next to her on the bed, crossing his leg. He dropped the unloaded pistol and bullets on the bed then looked at her.

Scully swallowed at looked over at him, “you’re not…”

“I have to, the sooner the better.” His eyes didn’t meet hers as he fingered the bullets.

“Stay tonight. At least tonight, you can get a head start in the morning. But stay tonight, eat, and get some rest. Please?” Scully’s throat tightened at the thought of Isaac leaving. After weeks of spending time with him, learning he was her son, Mulder’s son was overwhelming, but her love for him was fierce, and the thought of losing him crushed her.

“Okay, I will stay tonight.”

Scully smiled, “thank you.”

 

 


	12. 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isaac meets Mulder

 

Isaac crouched beneath a fallen tree, his hands held over his mouth to stifle his ragged breathing. Mulder, his dad, had been running, and he was fast. Isaac followed, ducking behind trees and keeping out of sight. When Mulder stopped suddenly, Isaac threw himself down behind the tree and watched. His curiosity of the man he had never even seen a photo of, his father, was overwhelming. He wanted nothing more than to run to him, hug him and learn everything he could about him. But Mulder didn’t know he existed, in any way shape or form and to do that would mean almost certain death. This man was on a mission, a hunter searching for one thing and nothing was going to get in his way. Isaac had photos in his pocket when the time came to convince Mulder that he was who he said he was, to follow him and that he would bring him to Scully.

Isaac followed Mulder at a distance for a day and decided to make his move in the early evening when Mulder settled down for the night. But the man seemed crazed, he never stopped, he never ate, he drank water when he found it but he was constantly moving, searching. Mulder came upon two beasts, Isaac climbed a tree as Mulder took them out with two bullets and paused next to the corpses. _It’s now or never._

Mulder was toeing the dead aliens and rummaging through his pack. “Hey!” Isaac called, jumping down from his perch, loosing his footing and falling ungracefully backwards, a tangle of arms and legs onto the dry forest floor.

Mulder spun around; his gun aimed and eyes blazing. “What do you want? Get out of here. I don’t have anything for you.”

“I don’t want anything” Isaac held up his hands in surrender.

 _What the hell, kid?_ Mulder looked the skinny boy over; a wave of familiarity flicked over him but was then gone. “I can’t help you.”

“I don’t need help. Look, I don’t want anything but a few minutes from you. I uh, I have something for you.” Isaac dug into his pocket and Mulder jerked his gun, the boy held his hands up again.

“Keep your hands where I can see them.”

“Okay, okay, sorry. But I really do have something for you. From…from Scully.” Isaac hesitated but spit it out. _Like ripping off a Band-Aid._

Mulder felt his blood run cold. _Scully._ “What did you say?” His palm gripping the gun grew sweaty and he felt his hand shake.

“I have something for you from Dana Scully.” Isaac repeated, trying not to let the fear he felt reflect in his voice.

Mulder didn’t lower his gun, but his tone changed, “how do you know Scully, is she okay? Where is she?”

“Can you point the gun…”

“Tell me!” Mulder roared.

Isaac flinched, “in my pocket. Check my pocket.” Mulder marched towards the boy and pulled out a small folded envelope. He holstered his gun and opened the damp paper. Inside two small pieces of paper fell out. The first one was a photograph of Scully, but she was different, still beautiful but different. _Aged?_ And next to her was the boy standing in front of him. Mulder stared at the photo and then the boy, then back down to the photo. He slid the second piece of paper out from behind the photo; it had handwriting on it, Scully’s handwriting. “Listen to him, Mulder. – G-Woman.”

“Okay. Talk to me,” Mulder said, his eyes never leaving the photo in his hand.


	13. 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scully at the cabin

 

Scully woke with a jolt from her second nap of the day to the sound of wind. _What the hell?_ She pulled her body from the bed and opened the door to the cabin, expecting to see a ship in the grey sky. But there was nothing but bleak smog that she had grown so accustomed to. But the wind howled through the dead trees and they creaked and moaned their distaste. Scully stepped out of the cabin, the pressure of the air slamming the door behind her and she walked out into the clearing. The wind was cool, almost cold. She closed her eyes and held her arms out, the constant sheen of sweat on her skin cooling, leaving a chill down her spine. The baby, she wasn’t used to calling him Isaac, stretched inside of her, his small home getting smaller as he grew. In that moment, Scully felt wonderful, the best she had felt in months. When the cold raindrop landed on her cheek she laughed out loud and soon she stood, soaking wet and shivering outside, but she smiled.

The fire felt glorious. The little black stove gave off an incredible heat that warmed the small cabin in minutes. Scully stripped out of her wet clothes, draped them over the arm chair and stood naked in front of the small fire that blinked through the stove door. Her body felt better, tired, achy and stretched beyond recognition, but better. After a few short weeks of eating her fill, sleeping days at a time and lounging by the stream, she had finally started to put on weight. Her belly, her own globe, weighed heavy in front of her and she watched as a foot pressed and bulged at the top. The baby was starting his shift downward. Scully swallowed anxiously, and she pressed her cold hands into her warm flesh of her belly. Isaac had warned her that he would come early, but left out any and all details beyond that. Scully hoped it wasn’t too early, a few more weeks of developing in her body was important. _Just a few more weeks._

Scully burrowed into her warm bed under the heaps of quilts she dug out of the old trunk. The evening brought in more rain and a deep chill that crept under the door. In a matter of hours the temperature dropped from a balmy heat to an icy chill. The wind shook the old wooden door and rattled the single window in the cabin. The dead trees cracked and splintered from the wind; falling in great crashes that argued with the thunder. It was real thunder though, not another ship. The thunder was accompanied by bright lightening that lit up the small cabin, casting long ghostly shadows for a few seconds at a time. Scully pulled her knees up as high as she could get them and wrapped an arm protectively around her belly. As much as she loathed the heat, the intensity of the storm was shocking and unnerving.

Scully fell asleep despite the severity of the storm. By morning, the thunder had quieted but the rain turned into a freezing sleet that pelted the small cabin. The fire in the small stove had gone out and when Scully awoke and peeked her head out of her small cocoon she was met with a small cloud of her own breath. She shivered. _You have got to be kidding me._ She shook her head, chastising herself for being surprised every time the world threw another curve ball at her. She braced herself against the cold as she struggled out of her warm bed, blowing into her hands and dancing back and forth on the balls of her feet as she stuffed kindling and wood into the stove and waited for it to light. It caught almost instantly and Scully practically dove back into the warm bed. She lay in bed longer than she wanted, willing herself to get up and be productive, but her pregnancy and the cold held her in chains to the bed. She listened to the wind howling outside, but something was different. She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand and she slowly sat up, pushing herself up with her arms behind her. The howling. It wasn’t the wind. She glanced at the gun next to the bed and then at the door of the cabin she had left unbolted. She jumped and ran, slamming her body into the door and pressing the rusted arm of the bolt into the sleeve. She waited and the howling grew.

A pack of creatures circled her cabin, occasionally clawing at the base or door. She heard them above her, digging into the earth-covered roof. They whined and yipped, not unlike a pack of dogs. It didn’t take Scully long to realize that it was not her they were after, the cold and icy rains were moving them to find shelter. Smoke pumped out of her small chimney and heat was sucked out of the small cracks of the cabin. She supposed had she been stuck out in that mess she would want to be inside too. But it didn’t stop her from sitting in her armchair, pistol in hand, waiting for anything to come through the door. She was pulled from her daze by a piercing whine, mechanical, familiar: a ship. This one was close, right overhead. The beasts yipped and yowled with the ships shrillness, as if in celebration. The sound pierced Scully’s head and she pressed her hands to her ears. Terror coursed through her body like the wind ripping through the trees. She would have run had she anywhere to go.

An explosion, not far away, rocked the cabin. The howling beasts stopped their whining and snarling and Scully stood dead still, listening, expecting the worst. The wind continued and the familiar smell of sulfur wafted through the cracks of the cabin, even through the rain, a fire ravaged close by. The ship vibrated overhead, the scream it emanated was deafening. Scully crouched by the door, hands over her ears, eyes squeezed closed. Fear weighted her down like a wet blanket, he shoulders sagged under it and she felt like she couldn’t breath, it was painful and she grimaced, biting her lip. When the ship passed the pain didn’t and Scully looked down at herself in shock. _Shit. No._ And then came the scratching and snarling at her door.

 


	14. 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder and Isaac con't

 

Mulder sat on the hard earth with his head between his knees trying to process what Isaac, his son? Had just told him. Scully was alive, Scully was pregnant, very pregnant. Scully was waiting for him, and they were going to have a son, who was standing in front of him, from the future using alien technology that Scully helped create. His head was spinning.

Isaac sat on his haunches a few feet away watching Mulder, he wasn’t taking the news as well as Dana… as his mom had taken it, “are you okay?”

Mulder waved weakly at him and nodded, “how is this real?”

“Are you really questioning this? You?” Isaac smirked at him.

 _Shit. He could be his kid._ Mulder looked at the boy, studying his face for the first time. He saw Scully. And then he saw himself, and a bit of Samantha in the eyes. _But blond? “_ Uncle Charlie is blond.” Isaac said, deadpanning.

“How the…” Mulder stared at him, mouth open.

Isaac shrugged, “if people are open to it, it just sort of happens.”

Mulder nodded dumbly, “can you uh, hear Scully? I mean, your mom?” He ran a hand through his hair.

“Now? No. But I never really could. She can stop it, she’s always been able to, unless she is really upset, or mad. Like when she is mad, I can hear her, loudly.” Isaac smirked at the thought. And Mulder smiled weakly back at him. _My kid would be able to read minds._ “I can heal myself, too” Isaac added with a laugh.

“Okay, stop it. Wait, what? How?” _My kid is an X File._

“Hard to explain, actually, no one really can explain it, maybe you will be able to one day. It has something to do with mom being abducted and alien DNA and a bunch of stuff like that. I broke my arm once and before mom got me to the hospital it was fixed. It just happens. Mom said something about rapid regeneration of cells.” Isaac chattered on, as Mulder nodded like what he was hearing was completely normal.

After a few moments of silence Mulder finally spoke up, “how far away is she?”

“Do you have a map?”

Mulder pulled his map from his bag and spread it out in front of him; Isaac sat down next to Mulder and looked at the map, his face serious, “where are we?”

Mulder pointed, “around here, I think.”

“Uhmm. She’s here.” Isaac pointed to the right of Mulder’s finger, a good 5 inches away to the north.

“Shit, that’s another few weeks of walking.”

“Then we better get going!” Isaac jumped up and held his hand down to Mulder who took it, strongly in his own and pulled himself up. The pair headed towards their destination, and besides the absurdity of the situation, relief was a welcome change. Scully was okay, she was going to be okay and in a few days, he would be with her. Mulder looked over at Isaac and smiled softly and shook his head. _He’s right, how could I question any of this?_

Before Mulder had a chance to agree, the had-been non-existent wind picked up with such a force that Mulder and Isaac both staggered back a step. “It’s cold.” Mulder watched the dead trees sway above them as the wind howled wildly. _Holy shit._

“Do you feel that? It’s raining!” Isaac yelled and jumped into the air with his arms out. Tiny ice-cold droplets fell faster until they two stood in a torrential downpour. Isaac whooped and held his face to the cold rain.

Mulder hunched his shoulders at the sudden onslaught of temperature change and glanced upwards towards the darkening sky that started to rumble with thunder. “Isaac, we have to find cover!” Mulder yelled over the din of the storm. They both ran for a large fallen tree, the one Isaac had hidden behind earlier and dove for it. Its hollowed out trunk was just big enough to the two of them and their lanky limbs to curl into away from the pounding storm. Lighting struck dangerously close with thunder cracking with it. Isaac stared wide-eyed into the falling darkness and shivered. Mulder pulled an extra shirt out of his bag and slung it awkwardly over Isaac’s thin wet shoulders, he smiled in appreciation.

The night was unbearably cold and uncomfortable and neither Isaac nor Mulder slept. The thunder and torrential rain dissipated as the sun rose, but the temperature continued to plummet. They each ate a Slim Jim and shared a can of corn before Mulder decided it was time to go. Isaac uncurled himself from the tree and watched as Mulder did the same, albeit a bit slower. And then they walked. Pushing through the icy wind, following nothing but intuition and a crumpled map. Mulder spent most of the time pressing Isaac for information about the future, which Isaac skillfully sidestepped.

“No, the cars do not fly. It’s not that far in the future!” Isaac laughed, pulling Mulder’s shirt tighter around his shoulders.

“So, you can travel through time, but the cars don’t fly?”

“Uh, nope. And not everyone travels through time; only two other people have done it before me, and they don’t even know I am doing it!”

“Are you going to get in trouble?”

“Probably.”

Mulder nodded, and tired to hide his pride. “When is your birthday?”

“January 8th 2001.”

Mulder stopped walking and grabbed Isaac by the arm “Isaac!”

“What?” The boy jumped at the large hand on his bicep and the volume of Mulder’s voice.

“That’s in two days!”

Isaac swallowed and nodded, adverting his eyes, “I know.”

“Scully!” Mulder became frantic, his hands scrubbing at his bearded face, eyes flashing.

“She’s going to be okay,” Isaac tried to reassure him.

“How do you know?”

“I just know. I’m here. I made it to 13. She knows I am coming early, she is in the cabin and she is safe.”

“How early?”

Isaac shrugged apologetically, “A few weeks? She was never specific.”

“But she’s alone!” Mulders voice was tormented. The thought of Scully bringing their child into the world alone, frightened and in pain was more than he could stand. Isaac watched him, not sure how to help. At this point, history was beyond his control, he didn’t know if Mulder would make it to Scully, and he only had two more days to try and make it happen. Mulder started walking again, a full stride with purpose that Isaac had to jog to keep up with.

That evening Isaac started to feel tingly, and he knew he didn’t have much time left. He sat against a tree watching Mulder struggle to make a fire. It was ironic that fire was so difficult to make, while steam billowed around them from the numerous wildfires that had burned all around them. “Hey, ummm, Mulder?”

Mulder didn’t look up from the fire, “yeah?”

“I’m going to have to go soon.”

This time, Mulder looked up at him, “what?”

Isaac nodded, “its impossible to be in a time where you already exist.” Mulder stared at him, not understanding. “I’m going to be born soon in this time, I have to go back to mine.”

Anxiety was like a lead weight in the pit of his stomach as he thought of Scully, and what was happening to her as they sat around their fireless camp. He nodded at Isaac. “How?”

“I just, go” Isaac whispered, kicking his feet in the dirt, trying to disrupt the needles that tingled up his legs.

 


	15. 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder and Isaac con't

  
 

Mulder slept fitfully that night, curling his body as close to the small fire as he could get. He awoke every few minutes to add what little bit of dried kindling he could find, and after awhile, he gave up. His mind wandered to Scully, it was always on Scully. The wondering if she was still alive had plagued him, at times, even incapacitated him. But now, he knew she was alive, she was close, but she needed him. He looked over at Isaac a few times, the boy seemed dead to the world, curled around himself, not unlike Mulder was.

When the sun finally started to rise and burn off the falling sleet, Mulder opened his eyes and saw that he was alone. He sat up stiffly and looked around. Nothing. “Isaac?” He called lightly into the wind, but there was no reply. _It’s only the 7 th. _Mulder let the thought sink in and felt like he had been punched in the gut. What if something happened? To Scully? The illogicality of the situation did not help his worry, but if what Isaac said was true, Isaac would not be in his time if the baby were alive. He had hoped to get to know the boy a bit more, but knowing that his leaving was due to Scully having a healthy baby made Mulder feel a bit better. He faced the icy wind and needles of rain and headed towards his family.

 

XXX

 

Isaac woke before the sun came up, his body felt like it was on fire, but also made of Jell-O at the same time. He staggered to his feet, glancing over at Mulder who was murmuring something in his sleep, and headed away from camp. He wandered through the dark forest, wind whipping around him, but he didn’t feel it. It felt like the wind was blowing through him, that the rain didn’t land on his skin, but inside of him. It wouldn’t be long. He thought of Dana, the young version of his mother that he had adored. Her fierce spirit was stronger than his moms, and despite her situation, her laugh was what stood out to him the most. His mother rarely laughed out loud, and when she did, he savored it. Dana had laughed at his jokes, and laughed with him. He was going to miss her. He glanced behind him, the small fire gone from his sight. Mulder. His father wasn’t what Isaac had expected. From what his mom had told him, Mulder was… well, he wasn’t the man in the woods. But he couldn’t really blame him, given their current situation. He hoped and prayed that Mulder would get to Scully and baby Isaac that he would get a chance to grow up with both of his parents. Isaac’s hands tingled, pulling him out of his thought. He looked down and felt like he was looking at himself through water. He sighed. Home soon.


	16. 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scully is closer

 

Scully pulled herself up from her crouch at the door and slowly padded back towards the chair. Behind her, the scratching and mauling at the door continued and the door rattled in protest. Scully felt certain the giant slab of oak, with its iron bolt would hold. The window, on the other hand, she wasn’t so confident about. It was small; maybe small enough that she, in her present condition, wouldn’t be able to get through it, but the old bubbled glass would shatter easily and she would be exposed. Scully sat heavily in the old chair listening to the ship rumble away and the continued scratching at the door. They had been after something. _Whatever it was, they got it._ Through the rain and wind, the sulfur smoke was still strong and Scully wondered what had been so close. She ran her hand over her belly, the tightening pain was short lived and passed, but she knew what it was. She sat, one hand on her belly, the other on the pistol on the arm of the chair and waited for her pulse to slow. The fear that had been coiled so tightly in her belly began to unwind and she felt her shoulders loosen. The more relaxed she was, the better. A sudden thud into the cabin door made her tense up again. The lizard creatures were fighting. _Good, maybe they will destroy themselves._

By midafternoon things outside the cabin, including the weather had calmed down, and Scully woke, stiff-necked in the chair. She had to go to the bathroom, badly. She walked lightly to the window and looked out, the trees still swayed in the wind and it was misting still, but there was nothing moving outside of the cabin. The pressure on her bladder increased. _Shit._ She pulled on her jeans that she could no longer button, under a man’s flannel shirt she had adopted as her wardrobe. She bounced lightly as she worked to tie her boots then grabbed the pistol and pulled the bolt on the door. “Fuck!” She yelped as a carcass of one of the aliens rolled inwards, towards her. She leaped ungracefully out of the way and stepped around it, noticing the acidic blood burning into the old wooden porch. She smell of it made her nauseous and she jogged to the outhouse to get away from the smell, only to be assaulted by another. She peed and was pulling at the waistband of her jeans when her belly tightened again. She grimaced and gingerly made her way out of the small building, bending lighting to her right to alleviate the cramp. It lasted less than 40 seconds and Scully let out a breath when it passed. Two in the span of a couple hours didn’t mean anything. _They don’t feel productive._ She rubbed at her hip and looked up at the sky, tiny icy raindrops dotted her face as she watched black smoke billow and blow in the wind.

The plume that was rising from the trees wasn’t far away and Scully bit her lip, looking back at the cabin and dead alien to the small road ahead of her. She had felt pent up and anxious, _I have my gun,_ and there was nothing around her anymore; she rationalized the walk up the road. She didn’t want to deal with death at her door, so she headed out. Stretching her legs felt wonderful and the crisp air gave her more energy than she felt like she should have. She held her gun at her thigh and made her way up the hill on the dirt road towards the smoke. A fire crackled and hissed under the misty rain and Scully held her gun in front of her as she approached a group of charred masses. She walked passed the first one, the burnt but recognizable shape of a truck. Its tires melted and body sagged, flames licking from inside out of the shattered windows. She pulled her eyes away and continued forward, past two more cars and then what was unmistakably, a house, or what was left of a house. It was gone, collapsed in on itself, flames and smoke rising from the center where heavy timber still burned. The heat that was still being produced was excruciating and Scully circled around it at a greater distance. Her lower back seized and belly cramped again and Scully squatted to the ground, relieving the muscles in her back. She let her head hang to her chest as she breathed slowly through the cramp, this one a little longer, a bit stronger. She opened her eyes as the pain subsided and looked at the ground below her feet. _Tire marks._ She stood up and spun around, her eyes on the ground. There were footprints and tire tracks. She moved closer to the house and stopped when she got to what had been the front door. The burned remains of a human lay half on the porch, head, shoulders and chest hanging off. Scully moved towards it, the body still smoking, clothes, hair and most of the skin charred black, but it was a human, a female from what Scully could tell. She strained her head to look into the house. _People, people had lived her, no more than a mile away from her. They had survived._ She didn’t allow herself to cry; instead she said a silent prayer and made her way back to her own cabin, not looking up as she passed the decimated vehicles.

Scully panted and groaned as she tugged at the rope that was attached to the hind legs of the giant lizard that was dead on her porch. The thing outweighed her by over 100lbs and she was only able to move it in short bursts. Once its body was half off of the porch, Scully sat, leaned against the wall of the cabin and pushed with her legs. It tumbled off in a heap, leaving a smear of rancid blood. As she sat catching her breath, the familiar sensation of a contraction started in her back and wrapped around her belly. Uncomfortable sitting down, she pushed herself up and paced the small porch, bent slightly over as the pressure in her back tightened. She walked off the porch and into the cold rain, unable to stay still. She glanced up at the smoke from her neighbor’s cabin and swore at the entire situation then kicked violently at the dead creature. When the contraction ended, the bout of rage she felt passed as well, leaving her empty and hungry. She stepped over the bloody hole in the porch and pushed into the cabin. The familiarity comforted her as she fed the stove and popped open a jar of cherry jam and ate it with a spoon, cross-legged on the bed. _The aliens knew those people were there._ She gave into her thoughts as she shoveled the sweet jam into her mouth, but hardly tasted it. _Something had alerted them, something gave those people away_. Scully held the spoon in her mouth and rubbed the back of her neck. _Why was I passed over?_

The setting sun brought snow, contractions and an antsy Scully. The tiny specks of frozen rain turned into heavy wet snowflakes that thudded against the window. Scully fed the stove, her teeth chattering, then a moment later, her body poured sweat as a contraction crashed into her. She stripped off her jeans and rolled up the long sleeves of her shirt and pushed her hands into the bed, grinding her teeth, her eyes screwed shut. She didn’t have a watch, or even a pen and paper to mark her progress but she knew she was in active labor, her contractions strong and coming at almost 10 minute intervals. She groaned and doubled over, pressing her head into the crumbled quilt. When the contraction ended, the shivering started again and Scully forced herself up to move around the cabin. She walked over to the window and peered out. The snow was really coming down; the dead body of the alien was covered in a light blanket of white. She looked at the outhouse and was suddenly consciously aware of the pressure on her bladder. She looked down at her bare legs. _I can wait._


	17. 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scully is no longer alone

  
 

She couldn’t wait. The added pressure of the contractions made her feel like she was going to burst. Glancing back to the window at the heavy snow she contemplated the thought of peeing in a bucket but decided to matter how ravaged the world was, Dr. Scully would not be urinating in a bucket. She had a perfectly good outhouse. She knew she had a few precious minutes before her next contraction and she threw her pants on and stuffed her feet into her boots, not bothering to tie them and flung open the cabin door. A gust of freezing air and snow smashed into her and swirled around the small cabin. Scully struggled to pull the door closed and stepped gingerly down the porch towards the outhouse. The small building groaned around her and she moved quickly, already chilled and missing the warmth of her little stove. When she stepped out of the outhouse she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, she did a double take and froze. The dead carcass of the alien next to her porch was being torn into by a very much live version, blocking the way of her front door. Scully held her breath; it hadn’t seen her, yet. She looked around, moving only her eyes. The outhouse was two steps behind her, the door closed, Her cabin was a few yards ahead of her, door blocked. The woodpile was to her left, just a few steps away, high and covered with snow. She shivered and she clenched her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering. The creature had its back to her and Scully risked a sliding step towards the woodpile, her hands stretching for it. She froze again, waiting. The alien didn’t notice her and she stepped again and then again. She was an arms length away from the pile when her entire body seized up. Despite the snow and freezing temperature, sweat beaded on her forehead, her gut clenched and it took every ounce of will power she had not to groan. She shifted forward slightly and prayed she wouldn’t vomit. She didn’t, her water broke instead. It came in a gush, soaking her pants and filling her boots, steam rising around her. She was aware of it happening, she saw it, but her body was unable to feel anything other than the tightening fist of her uterus that was somehow in her belly, lower back and upper thighs all at the same time. Had the lizard dog turned and charged her, in that moment she would have surrendered, her body unable to move, her lungs unable to fill with air; she was paralyzed.

But, the alien did not charge her; it did not turn around but continued to rip into the dead meat. Scully’s contraction passed and she sucked in air as fiercely as she could without gasping audibly. _Holy shit. This is bad. This is very very bad._ She had been nervous about giving birth, and sometimes the anxiety turned to fear, but this particular, terrifying, situation had not once crossed her mind and she felt herself start to panic. Her breath hitched in her chest, her heart thudded ferociously and she felt lightheaded. She wanted to lie down, desperately; her legs shook. She forced herself another sideways step towards the woodpile, standing almost behind it. She was preparing to squat down behind it when a howl pierced the air. Scully’s head jerked towards the sound, mirroring the alien in front of her. Down the small snow covered road, another alien monster stood, blurry in the blizzard. The animal in front of her took a few tentative steps towards the intruder, rose on its thick hind legs, a snarl emanating from its throat. And then suddenly in a flash it took off, back onto all fours, smashing into the other alien. Scully didn’t think, she ran, fast, faster than anyone hugely pregnant and in labor had probably ever run. In seconds, Scully was doubled over, hips pressed against the door, bolt in place. She closed her eyes and held her head in her hands. _Un-fucking believable_. Slowly, she moved from the door and toed off her boots, peeled off her soaked jeans, kicking them towards the bed and stood in front of the stove, hands held close. She hadn’t realized just how cold she was and her skin burned from the drastic change in temperature, she didn’t mind. She could still hear the snarling and yowls of the fight just down the way but she pushed it out of her mind. Overcome with total exhaustion she stepped backwards and sat on the bed. A moment later she was back up, digging through the old trunk and pulled out a towel that she placed on the mattress, then promptly curled on top of it, pulling the red quilt tight around her shoulders, her body compressed around itself as much as it could around her belly.

In no more than 30 seconds, Scully fell into a deep sleep that lasted no more than two minutes before she was awoken with a contraction. The velocity in which the contraction moved caused her to groan into her pillow, pulling her knees up to stretch her back, her knuckles white from gripping the quilt. She had made the right choice in putting down a towel as amniotic fluid gushed again from the pressure. Her fist lifted and slammed into the mattress, quilt still tightly clutched in her hand, “damnit!” she moaned through clenched teeth. She had to get up again; she had to move. As the contraction dissipated, Scully flung the quilt off of her and pushed herself from the bed and slowly walked towards the door, warm fluid trickling down her leg. She made 6 agonizingly slow passes from the door to the bed when another contraction came. Instinct took over and her mind shut off as she squatted next to the bed, both arms over the mattress gripping the blankets and sheets. Her body took over and Scully’s thighs quivered, hot blood pooled beneath her as her skin stretched. She pushed her face into the mattress and screamed, a hand rushing between her legs just in time to feel the head of her child move back up as the contraction ended. She didn’t move, just breathed and readied herself for the next onslaught that came without warning. She pushed, her face reddening with effort, her throat burning from the muffled grunts and moans she yelled into the bed. The babies head pushed downward, “come on baby” Scully cried, tears streaming down her face, “please, baby, come on.” She pushed; her eyes suddenly wide as she held the baby’s tiny wet head in her shaking hand. Ignoring the excruciating burning, Scully looked down awkwardly and felt to make sure the cord was out of the way before she pushed again. Exhausted, she lowered herself to the floor, bracing on one hip as she used both hands to guide the baby from her body. She gasped and then cried out as one shoulder was pushed out and then the other. She was able to see him and she looked down at his angry little face below her belly as she pushed one last time, her body emptying of the little life. Scully sat up, legs spread as blood and fluid poured out of her, she held the little boy to her chest, silent tears streaming down her face. “Hey baby,” she choked.


	18. 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder's journey continued.

_Cold. So fucking cold._ Mulder walked blindly through the freezing snow. His jeans and long sleeved shirt did nothing to combat the freezing temperatures. His fingers felt like they were dead; stiff and un-moving and his feet, giant blocks of ice that he dragged along, one after the other. When it got particularly bad, he jogged, his lungs burning and his eyes tearing, but his blood pumped and it helped a bit. He thought of Scully and Isaac, the Isaac he had just met and the baby he was on his way to be with. It was shocking and there where moments when he wasn’t sure if he should believe, if he even could believe. He shook his head to clear his mind. Scully and the baby where his motivation, the only thing he had keeping him going and he was going to get to them.

            After a few hours, Mulder sat behind a tree, letting its giant trunk shield him from the wind and freezing rain. He pulled out his water that had almost completely hardened and tipped it to his mouth, pulling in the freezing drops. _Useless._ His map was folded down to the small square, which he had to travel. He had no idea if he was going the right way. He pulled his legs to his chest and chewed on the hard jerky he had in his bag, his hands not warm enough to work a can opener on one of his last two mystery cans. He was afraid to sleep, he knew hypothermia hit fast and people never woke up. _Not really a bad way to go._ As tired as he was, he knew he had to keep moving. It was dark, probably early morning. January 8th. The rain had turned into snow and blanketed the dead forest. His boot left footprints as she trudged on into the darkness.

            The rising sun brought little warmth, but Mulder was just thankful that he had the ability to see more than a foot in front of him. The snow was still falling, but not as heavy, the entire forest in a blanket of solid white. He didn’t see the creek, the top a thin sheet of ice holding up the snow. He crashed down into the frigid water up to his knees. “Fuck!” He yelled, his voice echoing around him. He managed to pull himself up and out of the creek, water slouching out of his shoes. He shivered in the wind and pulled out his map with red frostbitten hands. His numb index finger traced the slight blue line between the wrinkles and folds. He was going the right way.


	19. 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scully and her baby's first hour.

 

            Scully cried on the floor with her son, her body shaking uncontrollably as she clutched the wet and tiny boy to her chest. He wailed his protest, his entire body turning a healthy shade of red. Scully coughed back a sob and held him out a bit to look at him. She pulled at her shirt to wipe his mouth, her finger quickly swiping the inside to clear it of any mucus, the baby screamed louder and Scully smiled. She looked around her, she had been completely unprepared for the birth and she anxiously looked down at her son’s belly, the umbilical cord still connecting him to her body.

She held him in the crook of her arm and reached over to the bed, bracing herself as she pulled her legs inward and forced herself up. She squeezed her eyes shut as she finally stood and made the two steps to the bed where she placed the baby wrapped him loosely in the quilt, his squalls softened as the warmth and weight of the blanket comforted him. Scully hunched over the bed, naked from the waist down, blood leaking down her legs, her groin aching, the cord running up against her belly to the bed and under the quilt, and the flutters of contractions moved slowly across her abdomen. She hung her head below her shoulders and breathed, waiting for her body to respond. Her back clenched slightly and she felt the involuntary push her body gave. Nothing. Her legs were weak and the baby was starting up again. Her nerves crackled and new tears formed in her eyes. _What the hell am I doing, goddamnt it Dana, you’re a fucking doctor, get it together._ But she wasn’t able to pull herself together. Her baby screamed and her body was aching and incredibly weak. The placenta had to come out; she needed to laydown, to hold her son.

Scully looked around the small cabin, her gaze dropping at the nightstand where her gun and hunting knife. She reached for the knife, and pulled the cord from between her legs; it was pale and no longer pulsing. _That’s a good sign._ She cut through it easily at her thigh and tied a quick knot at the baby’s belly, cutting the rest and discarding it in the bucket. She picked up the baby and gingerly slid her body onto the bed, pulling her shirt open; she unwrapped and pressed the naked baby to her bare chest, awkwardly covering them both with the quilt. Scully let her head fall back, and her eyes automatically shut, only to snap open when the baby squirmed. She shifted her weight and helped the baby to her breast, gently leading his mouth to her nipple. He wasn’t interested. Instead, he yawned and swiped his clenched fist over her chest, his face relaxing in sleep. _Come on, baby._ She pinched his feet to wake him up but he just turned his face into her chest. Scully couldn’t suppress a smile as she watched her 15-minute-old son already pull out a play from his father’s book.

            Scully dozed with her baby, unable to fight sleep, but was awoken shortly by the shrill cry of her son, still in her arms, red faced and angry. She again helped him to her breast where he rooted, mouth open, searching. Scully helped him and sighed in relief when he latched on fast and strong. She closed her eyes again, listening to the enthusiastic swallowing of her tiny baby. After a few short minutes Scully grimaced and tried to shift her weight as a strong contraction moved through her. Her muscles clenched and she ignored the pain and bore down, lifting her leg slightly. After a few minutes the placenta passed, wet and cooling between her legs. The baby’s eyes rolled into a drunken sleep, Scully’s nipple falling from his mouth. She took the opportunity to wrap him up and set him on the bed so she could work on cleaning up.

            It was a long and agonizing process, just cleaning herself and the mess on the cabin floor, throwing out soiled towels and blankets, disposing of everything into the bucket and moving it to the door had exhausted her. Scully forced herself, bleary eyed and sore to add wood to the fire and boil some water. Scully made a mug of tea and a warm compress to put between her legs. The bleeding had slowed and the fears she held so tight to, were slowly slipping away. She pulled her herself back into bed, moving down to her side to face the baby. He slept soundly and Scully placed her hand on his belly, feeling him alive beneath her hand as she fell back to sleep, tea cooling next to the bed.


	20. 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally

Scully sat cross-legged, bathed in early morning sun that poured in lazily thorough the window, in front of the small stove as it chugged through the last of its coals. The freezing weather had finally dissipated, less than a week after it started and Scully only used the stove for hot water and at night. She tore another sheet and tried her best to sew it into something that resembled a diaper. The baby (she hadn’t been able to call him Isaac yet, it felt wrong) lay on a pillow next to her, sound asleep, having no idea how much his bowels were having an effect on his mother. The first two days of his life, Scully changed the sheets 5 times, having to wash and hang them to dry, sleeping on bare mattress in the meantime. She finally resorted to wrapping the tiny baby in a towel, but that was just and messy and just as time consuming to clean and she had been exhausted, delirious even, she wasn’t really sure how she and the baby had made it.

Scully held a bent needle with white thread in her mouth as she carefully tried to piece together the bits of sheet; she squinted with frustration. The baby mewed softly next to her, his little fists balled up and his face darkening with an incoming rage if his mother didn’t comply with his needs. At the sound, Scully felt heavy and ached with a feeling that only her son could relieve. She moved her sewing to the side and carefully picked up the baby and moved to the bed. She pulled up her knees and laid him on her thighs as she undid her shirt. He was so tiny that her breast nearly swallowed his head. She estimated him to be about 4 weeks early and a little over 5lbs when he was born. She worried that his underdevelopment would be too much for him to overcome but he was growing by leaps and bounds. In the short week of his life, Scully thought she could detect a small change; his cheeks were fuller, his little thighs had more creases and rolls. He was thriving. She dozed as her baby sucked greedily and almost unconsciously she switched him to her other breast when her nipple popped out of his mouth with a tiny cry. A few moments later, they were both sound asleep, the baby on Scully’s bare chest, face turned, resting on her breastbone; they breathed in tandem, her hand never leaving his back.

 

XXX

 

Mulder looked to either side of what was once a small dirt road. It lead both up the small mountain and down and for the first time on his journey to find Scully, he wasn’t sure which way to go. The map was useless after he found the creek, soaked into little wet balls at the bottom of his bag. He decided to go left; up. He looked around him as he walked, his stomach aching painfully. He had gone through his last food two days ago. He tried his best to distract himself from his hunger by naming the dead trees by their bark. So far he had Oak, and maybe Maple, but it could have been Elm. Something caught his eye and he stopped, peering up the small road. _Smoke?_ He had to squint, but he was certain he saw a small wisp of smoke that stood out in the murky sky. His heart pounded in his chest and drummed in his ears. _Scully._ He lurched into a jog, “Scully!”

 

XXX

 

“No, Mulllrrr,” Scully murmured in her sleep, shifting just enough that the baby awoke and stretched, letting out a tiny cry. Scully’s eyes slammed open. _A dream._ She had stopped dreaming about Mulder after the baby had been born, he was all that consumed her and as much as she missed Mulder, she was thankful for his absence, it hurt when she thought of him.

“Scully!” A voice called faintly from the outside. Scully’s chest heaved and she pushed herself up, careful to maneuver the baby to the mattress next to her. _It’s not._ Her mind raced and her fingers shakily buttoned her shirt. She glanced down at her tiny boy on his belly wrapped in ripped sheets, his wispy blonde hair sticking out in small tuffs over his tiny peach head. _Mulder._ “Scullyyy!” The voice answered her thoughts, closer now. _Oh my God._ She placed a pillow next to the sleeping infant and stood tentatively, reaching for the gun, willing her hand steady. She shifted her eyes to the door. _This is a trap. A trick._ She took in a deep breath and tried to ground herself. She took a few steps towards the door and leaned towards the little window. “Scully!” The voice was right in front of the cabin; it came out of a tall man with a beard. Scully’s body shook and she pushed the bolt open, glancing back to the bed. When she opened the door she thought her knees would give out.

In front of her, Mulder’s did and he collapsed to the ground, his arms out stretched, huge sobs escaping his throat, “Scully! Scully!” He repeated her name over and over. Scully moved towards him as if she was floating and in an instant she was on the ground wrapped in Mulder’s arms, her own sobs matched his. They rocked on their knees and Mulder planted wet kisses all over Scully’s head, her name still trembling on his lips. Scully kneaded her fists into his chest, trying to dig into him. Mulder’s hands moved all over her body, touching every part of her, until finally he held her face in his palms and pushed his lips to hers. Warmth spread though Scully and she shivered. She pulled away when a scream from inside the cabin interrupted them. Mulder looked at her as she stood, pulling at his hand. He pushed himself up and followed Scully into the small cabin, past a wood burning stove to a bed with a red quilt.

Scully let go of his hand, picked up a small screaming bundle and turned to face him. ‘Mulder” her voice caught in her throat, “this is your son.”

Mulder sank to the bed and it groaned at his weight. He stared at the tiny red baby in Scully’s arms and tears sprang to his eyes once again, “my son.”


	21. 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder and Scully are finally together

  
 

            Mulder sat in the tattered armchair and held the baby in his arm. The only time he took his eyes off of the tiny face was when Scully left his side to sit on the bed.

“You’re doing well” Scully couldn’t wipe the smile from her face as she watched the father and son. Mulder had been at the cabin a few hours and Scully had clung to him the entire time, the three of them in constant contact, until Scully left her boys alone in the chair.

“Scully?” Mulder whispered after she had succumbed to her adrenaline crash and curled up on the bed, eyes closing almost instantly.

She cracked one eye open and smiled, “yeah?”

“He’s uh, he’s squirming and making a face. He looks really mad.”

“Shit.” Scully jumped up from the bed and pulled a towel from a hook on the wall and tucked it under the baby on Mulder’s lap.

“What?” He looked at her confused. She held a finger up and in a moment her motives were clear. “Oh… shit.” Scully pursed her lips into a smile and she slid her arms under the baby. “Wait, wait, wait, I can do it, Scully. I am going to have to learn, right?”

“Yeah, but I have just kind of been winging it,” Scully pulled a pile of rags from the trunk and plopped back down on the bed and watched Mulder slowly rise from the chair, with the baby in his arms, take slow motion steps towards her. It only took an hour, but between the two of them, Mulder and Scully were able to clean the baby and redress him in something that looked like it might have once been a real garment. They sat side by side in bed, the baby sleeping between them, their hands both resting on his belly.

“Isaac,” Mulder said the baby’s name then glanced at Scully.

She met his gaze, “you know, I know he is right here, but I miss him. I miss Isaac.”

“He was a good kid. He is going to be a good kid,” Mulder agreed and patted the tiny tummy.

“But he won’t be the same kid we knew. That Isaac is gone, his history is changed,” Scully sighed then added slowly, “lets call him William.”

“Call him by his middle name?”

“Yeah, why not? He has a clean slate and, I know it doesn’t make sense, but I just feel like, Isaac is a part of us, but William is here now,” Scully rambled as she tried to rationalize.

“I get it, Scully. It makes sense,” lets call him William. It fits him.

 

XXX

 

That night, while William slept between two pillows on the bed, Mulder dragged in the old tin tub from the porch while Scully boiled water. After the 4th kettle full and a few buckets from the stream, the tub was only a quarter of the way full, but Mulder’s atrophied muscles quivered and Scully decided that a shallow bath was better than any bath. “Get in,” Scully pulled on Mulder’s shirt.

“I want you to go first,” he pulled off his shirt and tugged at Scully’s, “let me bathe you.”

“Mulder.” Scully felt herself blush and she crossed her arms over her chest, suddenly extremely self-conscious.

“Please” Mulder whispered into her neck. “I have missed you so much.”

She shivered, “Mulder, I can’t…”

“I know, I just want to see you, I want to touch you. Besides,” he suddenly became very matter of fact, “I have not had a real bath in weeks, bathing in your used bathwater will be exactly what I need,” he shifted his eyebrows at her.

“I’m not how you remember me, Mulder,” she shifted uncomfortably under his gaze and stared into the swirls of steam coming from the tub.

“Scully, you had a baby a week ago, you spent months held captive in an alien spaceship and survived who knows what for months out here. I know your body has changed; you protected and nourished our son. Do you know how amazing that is?” He rubbed his calloused hands over her thin shoulders and kissed her neck again, “please.”

Scully melted under his touch and unbuttoned her large shirt, shrugged it off of her shoulders and let it drop to the floor. Her swollen breasts practically spilled from her tattered bra and Mulder’s hands shook at her back as he unclipped it and slowly pulled it off of her arms. He gasped audibly when he looked at her. She shimmied out of her jeans and panties, suddenly cold and naked in front of Mulder. She crossed her arms again, “Mulder,” she whispered.

“Scully, I have missed you so much,” he pulled her into his arms, groaning at the feel of her skin on his, “you are so beautiful.”

“Mulder?”

“Yeah, Scully?” He looked down at her.

“I’m cold.”

“Oh, sorry, get in the tub,” he held her hand as she lowered herself down, wincing as her lower half moved into the warm water, “are you okay?” Mulder knelt down next to the tub and dipped a rag into the water.

“Yeah, I’m just sore. I had a baby a week ago,” she glanced over at the bed where William slept soundly.

“Yeah, you did,” he ran the rag over her shoulders and down her back. She gathered her hair into one hand and pulled it over her shoulder, lowering her head. Mulder worked the rag over her neck and shoulders, massaging lightly as he went. He smiled as she groaned quietly. He fingered her brominate ribs and the pearls of her spine. She was too thin. He pulled back the rag and lathered in soap and suds her up, then moved slowly to the front of her body, stopping momentarily to make sure he wasn’t crossing a line. She leaned back into him and Mulder lathered her breasts, cupping each one, thumbing her nipples that hardened instantly. He moved lower, soaping her belly, it was still soft, still round from carrying William. He loved it. He loved her. Scully sucked in a breath as he moved between her legs. It made him nervous so he grabbed her hand and handed her the rag. He kissed the moisture between her shoulder blades as she washed herself, her eyes closed and lips full being rolled between her teeth.

Scully hissed sharply and jerked her hand from between her thighs, “Mulder, we have to stop,” she looked up at him regretfully.

Mulder dropped back onto his haunches, “yeah, yeah, sorry. Just um, just give me a minute.”

Scully leaned on the edge of the tub, resting her chin on her crossed arms and smirked at Mulder, “sorry.”

Mulder shifted and pulled the only towel that hadn’t been soiled by William and put it around Scully’s shoulders as she stood. She pulled it tighter around her as she stepped out, glancing at the bed, then turned to Mulder, “your turn,” her voice was low.

“Scully,” he licked his bottom lip and pulled at his jeans. She leaned into his chest and he wrapped his arms around her, rubbing the towel on her skin.

“I missed you so much, Mulder,” her voice was muffled in his chest and he inhaled the top of her head. The moment was interrupted by a small scream that grew in volume and intensity so fast that Mulder jumped. Scully hunched forward and pressed the towel to her breasts and was on the bed in a second, William at her right breast. She looked up at him, “I’m sorry!”

Mulder shook his head, “no, no, I uh,” he couldn’t take his eyes off of her naked body with the tiny baby in her arms, she was stunning, “I really need to scrub.” He stepped over to her and gently pulled the towel from her shoulder, picked up her feet, tucked her under the covers and kissed her cheek and then William’s blonde head. “Wait up for me.”

She smiled and watched him strip out of his jeans, taking in his lean body, his long hair and beard that tickled her cheek when he kissed her. She liked it. She loved him so much that it hurt. She looked down at the tiny boy at her breast and the hurt intensified. Mulder splashed down awkwardly in the shallow tub and Scully stifled a laugh into William’s head. It was a good hurt.


	22. 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A plan.

 

            If it were possible, Mulder could hold his son and watch Scully sleep for days, but he settled for hours. When Scully allowed herself to surrender to sleep, she slept hard and Mulder did his best to care for William without her help whenever he could. In the first week he had tried to feed William via Scully while she slept. It did not go well and since then he decided that it would be best to wake her when the baby was hungry. She agreed.

            They spent a couple weeks in the cabin, William spent his time eating and growing, Scully spent hers sleeping, healing and feeding William. And Mulder spent his time thanking every deity he could thank for giving him his family, other times; he just watched Scully and William in total awe.

Scully’s body was healing well, or as well as could be expected she assumed. The bleeding had slowed significantly, similar to a normal period, and the soreness was almost unnoticeable, until she was touched. _Poor Mulder._ He wanted her so badly, and she wanted him, but her body protested against each try. Scully placated him with her hands and mouth, but it wasn’t the same. Mulder was caring and understanding. Most of the time, he was happy just holding her in his arms, other times, when urges became too much, he went on a walk.

Since William was born there had been no alien ships, no alien beasts and the weather was evening it. Canada in January was in fact freezing and the little stove worked overtime to keep the small cabin warm. Scully told Mulder about the burnt house up the road and he spent a day scouting. There were other small cabins, mostly one room hunting lodges like theirs with little to nothing of use. He took what he could which wasn’t much. Old clothes, an axe and some canned goods on his first trip. Scully was still anxious when he left and he decided to wait a bit longer until he went out again. He didn’t like being away from her either.

On evening in late January it was particularly blustery and the little family huddled in the bed together, listening to the wind and suckling of William when Scully blurted, “Mulder, what are we going to do?”

He raised his eyes from the baby to Scully’s face and saw the concern etched in the corners of her mouth, “about what, Scully?”

“We can’t stay here forever.”

He shook his head, agreeing with her. He had not really thought about it much, and when he did, he found it irrational to move Scully and the baby, having no idea what was happening outside of their little cocoon. “I know.”

“I mean, Mulder, who knows what’s happening out there, who lived and who didn’t? Is there anywhere to go?” Her voice rose and she shifted, causing William to lose his latch and he protested loudly.

Mulder reached over and helped the baby find Scully and then took her hand in his own, “try not to think about it now, it’s too cold to move and you still need to heal.”

“I can’t help but think about it, Mulder.” She jerked her hand from his harder than she on intended, but he didn’t seem offended, just concerned. “Isaac said…”

He interrupted her, “Isaac talked about a future where you are safe, where things are different but you live. We are going to live Scully, we are going to rebuild and our lives with be what we make them. And honestly, if we end up living in this small cabin for the rest of our lives, I wouldn’t mind, because I have you two.”

She narrowed her eyes, “that is sweet but unrealistic, Mulder. William needs vaccines; he needs formula and food. I got really lucky with his delivery, damn lucky. But it wouldn’t hurt for me to see a doctor.”

It was Mulder’s turn to look concerned, “you feed him, Scully. He is putting on weight everyday, your body is doing everything right. And you are healing, right? You feel okay?”

“I didn’t mean to worry you. Yes, I feel fine; I will be fine. And William is fine, but I can’t feed him forever, he needs solid food, and Jesus, Mulder, the kid is going to need new clothes.” She looked down at the baby swaddled in rags and strips of towel and laughed lightly, then stroked the baby’s head, “I just want him to have a normal life.”

“Umm Scully, with parents like us, he will never know normal,” he smiled at her but she kept her gaze at the baby, ignoring his hint of humor. Mulder wet his bottom lip then cupped Scully’s cheek, turning her face towards him, “lets make a plan.”

“A plan?”

Mulder nodded and released her face, “something to work towards, to think about and look forward to.”

“Okay,” she agreed hesitantly, her eyebrow arched in interest.

“Let’s be logical about this, first of all, its too damn cold to travel, anywhere. William is too young and you are not ready. But by early spring, you and William will be strong enough and we can start moving south, back to DC. In the meantime, I will continue scouting, collecting supplies and necessities for our trip. You just focus on getting you and the kid ready. In three months, we should be good to go.”

Scully rolled the idea around in her head. _Three months._ She could do that. William would be bigger; she would be healed and could handle another trek south. She nodded, “yeah, that sounds good. But do you think DC is where we need to go?”

“It’s home base. It’s a start. If we don’t find anything, we move on, we adapt.”

“Adapt,” she played with the word quietly. The whole world would have to adapt.

That night, Scully fell asleep wrapped in Mulder’s arms with William at her breast; she finally felt relief. Mulder’s plan had eased her anxiety. They had something to work for, something to look forward to. She felt good about it. Until she woke up in the early hours of the morning, the freezing wind pounding at their door, and her tiny boy burning up with fever.


	23. 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cabin fever and something else is setting in.

 

            “Mulder, wake up!” Mulder rolled away from the wall to the center of the empty and cool bed. “Mulder!” Scully was calling his name. His eyes snapped up and pushed himself up and out of the bed, the cool air chilling him instantly. Scully was pacing at the end in the bed, William in her arms.

            “Scully? Why don’t you throw some wood in the stove?” He rose, naked, and took two long strides to the woodpile.

            “No!” Scully called over her shoulder, her voice sharp and high.

            He turned and looked at her, suddenly aware of her pained and tear streaked face. “Scully?” He was by her side in a second. “What’s wrong?” He cupped her face in his hand. “

            “William is burning up. I can’t get his fever to break.” She glanced down and Mulder’s eyes followed to the small baby, eyes squeezed closed and his cheeks a deep pink. Mulder brushed his fingers over the baby’s fair head and felt the obvious fever. But it was William’s silence that scared him the most. In the few weeks he had known his son, he had missed the silence. The baby screamed when Scully’s breast wasn’t in his face. Or when he slept, which wasn’t often. “He’s lethargic, and he wont eat. Mulder, we have to get his fever to drop.” She started pacing again and Mulder dropped to his knees and pushed open the trunk at the foot of the bed. “There’s nothing in there, I already looked. Nothing that William can have.”

            Mulder let the lid slam and stood in front of Scully, the baby between them, “how long?”

            “I woke up about, uhm, maybe 20 or 30 minutes ago.” Her voice was shaky with panic. Mulder had never seen her lose control like she was while holding their son.

            “Scully,” her pushed her hair out of her face and then swiped a gentle finger over William’s hot cheek, “maybe he is fighting something.”

            Scully’s eyes shot up at him, “what?”

Mulder thought about his words carefully before he answered her. She was a doctor, a brilliant woman but a new mother, scared and exhausted. “He is young, Scully. His little body could be fighting off any sort of germ or bug. Don’t kids get fevers all of the time? Scully’s eyes softened and dropped to William whose little fists were clenched and waving above his head. A tiny mew escaped his tiny lips and Scully kissed his head. “Try feeding him?” She nodded and brushed passed him, sitting heavily in the old chair and undid the few top buttons of her large flannel. Mulder watched her guide the baby to her breast as he pulled on his dirty jeans.

            William latched, albeit half heartedly, and Scully relaxed slightly into the chair, “he’s eating.”

            Mulder dampened a cloth and knelt by Scully and ran it over William’s head then looked at Scully who adverted her eyes in embarrassment. “Hey, hey,” he tugged lightly at Scully’s chin and forced her to look at him, “he’s going to be okay.”

            “I’m sorry,” she breathed.

            “Why are you apologizing?”

            She shook her head, “I am overreacting.”

            “I think you are reacting like any other mother would. Not to mention our situation, what you have been through is more than anyone could endure. Scully, Jesus, I think you’re doing great.” He smiled up at her and she returned it.

 

XXX

 

Days later Mulder found Scully and William bundled up on the front porch in the sun. “Hey.” he sat down heavily on the step next to her and pushed the quilt aside to see William’s bright eyes gazing back at him, “hey you.”

Scully smiled at him, “Mulder, look.”

“What?”

She jutted her chin up towards the sun, Mulder followed her gaze, put his hand over his eyes and squinted, “what?”

“Mulder! The sun!”

“What?”

“This is the first time I have seen the sun in months. Whatever that haze is seems to be dissipating.”

Mulder blinked and turned to look at her. It was still freezing cold, but the sun was out and the air felt lighter. “What do you think it means?”

She shrugged, “could be a lot of things, but the weather has been anything but normal in the past few months, I couldn’t even begin to guess.”

“They are gone.”

Scully tensed around William, “we’ve been deceived before.”

“It’s getting warmer.” He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her tightly too him. “Won’t be long until we can start getting ready to head out.”

“I don’t know…”

Mulder cleared his throat, “We don’t really have a choice. I have been all over the side of this mountain and there isn’t anything here for us. We are running out of food.”    

“We agreed on spring.”

“Circumstances change. We adapt.”

“Babies don’t adapt to situations like this. He’s five week old.”

“We’ll take care of him.”

Scully tried to hide her annoyance and concern over the sudden change in plans. She wasn’t ready and William wasn’t ready. She couldn’t imagine the toll the journey would take on all three of them. She could hardly manage to stay awake when she sat down, let alone trek hundreds of miles with her infant. It was illogical and downright dumb. She decided against voicing her concerns to Mulder and let him think everything was okay. Everything would be okay.

 

XXX

 

The next day the sun disappeared behind the haze again and it was snowing again. Mulder fed the stove every hour, roughly at same time William demanded to be fed. Scully curled her body around a nursing William in the middle of the bed as Mulder tinkered around the small cabin. The few minutes William ate and the following hour of sleep were her only salvation. She let herself drift as her son swallowed with happy murmurs. When she woke up the sun was setting, she was covered with the red quilt and William wasn’t next to her. She jerked to a sitting position, wincing slightly as her healing body protested. “Mulder?” After a quick sweep of the empty cabin, Scully was out of the bed, jamming her feet into her boots and wrenched open the door. It wasn’t snowing anymore but a thick blanket of white covered as far as she could see. Boot prints meandered around the small yard and down the road. Scully’s pulse quickened and she followed the prints. She slid in the snow but didn’t slow down, the wind whipped her hair around her face but she didn’t feel the cold.

“Hey, Scully!” Mulder called from a few feet off of the dirt road, William was bundled in his arms.

Scully nearly slammed into him. “What are you doing?” She asked, gasping out thick clouds of breath.

Mulder looked confused as Scully pulled William out of his arms and into hers. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” He followed her back onto the small road and jogged to walk beside her. “Scully? What?” He placed a hand on her shoulder and she jerked away from him.

“What were you thinking?” She hissed and trudged through the snow.

“What do you mean? We were taking a walk, the snow stopped.” He stomped up the stairs after her. “We have been cramped for days, we needed some fresh air.”

Scully sat on the bed and clutched the baby in her arms and shivered as adrenaline left her body. “He is five weeks old, Mulder! He needs his mother.”

Mulder couldn’t hide his shock, “we were 30 feet away, Scully. You were asleep, I let you sleep.”

“You can’t just take my baby!”

His eyes widened and his mouth hung open before he was able to make words come out of his mouth. When they did, they were barely more than a whisper, “he’s my baby too.”

Scully shivered again and William screeched. _Right on time._ In a moment, both mother and child were back in the middle of the bed under the red quilt. Mulder stood in his spot and watched. Scully’s eyes never left William’s face. After a few minutes, Mulder pulled his eyes away and pushed more wood into the stove. He was hurt, but more than hurt, he was worried. Worried about Scully. She was exhausted and emotional. If he let himself think about it, he could convince himself that she didn’t trust him. Not with William. He had to get his family out, they couldn’t stay in the little cabin, and they wouldn’t survive. He looked around the cabin. They would go; he could get them out. And he would do it soon.


	24. 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The journey home begins

It continued to snow, and the weight of it was unbearable. Mulder crashed into the small cabin carrying a bundle of logs. He dropped them next to the stove and breathed into his red and cracked hands. He glanced over at Scully, cross-legged in the middle of the bed with three pins stitching out of her mouth. Her nose scrunching as she worked on another garment for Williams. He had to admit, she was getting pretty good. So far she had perfected cloth diapers, and a version of a jumper for the baby. The baby, he lay on his stomach next to Scully, trying his hardest to hold his upper body up. His little head bobbled but he smiled when he made eye contact with his father.

“Hey man, look at you, you’re doing it!” Mulder kneeled by the bed and ran a cool finger over William’s eyebrow. The baby’s gummy smile warmed him better than the fire. “These are nice,” Mulder murmured as he touched the brown terry towel overalls William was wearing over a flannel-oversized shirt.

Scully shrugged, “they will do. I am trying to make things bigger so he has room to grow. I’m running out of material.”

“I thought about doing another scouting trip.” Mulder stood and fed a log to the fire and placed the kettle on top of the stove.

Scully pulled the pins out of her mouth and looked at Mulder, “but you just got back…”

“I know, but we need more supplies. We cant last the winter like this.”

“It’s not winter.”

“You know what I mean,” Mulder sighed and slouched into the threadbare armchair.

Scully patted the babies bottom, helping him roll to his back, then watched as his tiny body wiggled, trying to get back to his tummy. “We can’t stay here, Mulder. There are only so many things we can scavenge, so many places you can go. We could be on our way home.”

“If we even have a home.” Mulder’s eyes left Scully’s face as his imagination of what was left of D.C. put horrible pictures into his brain. He imagined the city burned, desiccated, and wiped of off the map. He didn’t realize Scully was staring at him. Her voice startled him out of his daydream.

“We have to do something, I am going crazy in here. There has to be something out there, someone. We can not be the only ones alive.”

“You’re probably right. But traveling in these conditions.” Mulder gestured towards the tiny window, frosted with snow.

“I am strong, you’re strong. We can do this. We talked about it. William is old enough to handle a trek if we are smart about it. But Mulder, we can’t stay here.” She continued to stare at him and his eyes left her face once more and he nodded slightly. “Yeah?” Scully asked hopefully.

“Yeah. Let’s do it. Lets go home.” He stood and kissed Scully’s temple as he palmed the back of her head.

 

 

The next few days were spent packing and preparing for the unknown that lay ahead of them. Scully filled her pack with William’s clothes, diapers, what little toys they made and whatever food they had left. She layered her own clothes and tied an extra pair of boots to her pack. Mulder fashioned a wrap for William that would work on his or Scully’s body. He wanted the baby as close to them as possible to keep him warm, he didn’t tell Scully, but he was nervous about their upcoming journey. He packed his own bag with small bundles of kindling, a first aid kit, tarps, an old tent, a single sleeping bag and extra ammo. He cleaned the old shotgun and his Glock, making sure they were in perfect condition. They had not seen the monsters in weeks, but he wanted to be ready. Scully kept her own gun on her hip, and the next morning when they stepped out into the pale sun, she touched it gently, its heaviness and familiarity was a comfort. William slept at her breast, tightly wrapped under her shirt and coat. Her pack was heavy but not uncomfortable, but she worried she might have been too ambitious. Mulder watched her out of the corner of his eye as they made their way down the rocky driveway. “You good?” He asked casually.

“Yep.” Her answer was assured and confident, but he watched her hands unconsciously go to the bundle at her chest. The snow had stopped two days ago and in the silent forest, they could hear the drips as it melted off of trees. Scully didn’t get her hopes up, they had been tricked before and she knew as soon as the snow melted and she felt the tiny rays of warmth on her face, the bottom would drop out and they would wake up to a blizzard. They made their way down the mountainside slowly, taking the same path Mulder and Isaac had just a few short months ago. Without a map they relied on instinct and faith. Faith, Scully clung to the shreds of hers but she was felt it slip through her fingers like sand.

After only an hour of walking William jerked and started mewling. Scully hushed him but it was only a matter of time before his tiny lungs screamed and his voice echoed off the dead pines. They stopped in a small clearing and Mulder silently helped Scully out of her pack and lowered her to the ground. Their breath hung in heavy clouds around them and Scully had to work quickly to change the baby. Once he was dry and warm, they started again, this time; William nursed and tangled his fingers in Scully’s hair. She smiled and felt more confident. _We can do this._

Dusk came quickly and Mulder and Scully both worked to clear a small camp and start a fire just big enough to warm a can of beans and a pot of snow to drink. The tiny tent did nothing to keep the cold out, but the wind whipped around them, whistling its dismay. Together, the three of them snuggled in the downy sleeping bag, William happily bubbling after his dinner, not yet ready to close his eyes, while his parents lay, limbs entangled, succumbed to exhaustion.


End file.
